Saturday, May 03, 2014

Ex-Court of Appeal judge: I would rank Karpal the best lawyer in the country

'Speaking at a memorial service for Karpal in Petaling Jaya, Datuk Mahadev Shankar remembered how the fiery lawyer was popular with the judges, all of whom held him in high esteem.

“After I became a judge, I had the opportunity to watch Karpal in action, and I found that he was the best lawyer who ever appeared before me.

“I would rank him the best lawyer in the country,” Mahadev told some 100 people at the memorial organised by Karpal’s former schoolmates from SMK La Salle and St. Xavier’s Institution.'

'“He never wasted the court’s time. When he came into court, he went straight for the jugular, without mincing his words.

“More often than not, I agreed with him. Other times, I did not, and I judged against him.

“But this was the opinion of all the judges that time: we put him as number one. When we heard he was coming to court that day, we immediately got a lift,” said the former judge.

Mahadev described every moment of Karpal in court as memorable, stressing that it was impossible to choose one example to illustrate the late veteran lawyer’s prowess.'

'Mahadev said the last time he presided over a case in which Karpal appeared was at the VK Lingam inquiry, where Karpal made a “very forceful submission” to have one of the judges recused.

“Again, it was one of his best moments, although at the time he was in a wheelchair.

“However, when he starts talking, you don’t see the chair; you see a force coming out from that personality with all its logic and common sense and eloquence,” he said.

Mahadev added that he counted himself lucky for not ever having to face Karpal in court as a lawyer.

Recalling the impression Karpal made in the courts after graduating from university, Mahadev said: “In 1969 or 1970, when Karpal had just got out of university, I was regarded as a hotshot lawyer among my peers.

“One day a friend called me and said: ‘You’d better come to court and listen to Karpal, because I think he is much better than you’,” chuckled Mahadev.'

http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2014/05/03/karpal-thrilled-us-with-his-delivery-in-court-former-judge-recalls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+limkitsiang%2Frss+%28Lim+Kit+Siang%29
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