New Delhi: Veteran lawyer K Parasaran felt a little bored after the arguments in the Ayodhya case concluded. He didn't know how to spend his time. And why not. At 93, Parasaran has had quite an itinerary for the last eight months as he led the legal battle for the Hindu side in the Ayodhya title land dispute case.
A former attorney general, Parasaran was working relentlessly since the Supreme Court embarked upon the legal adjudication of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.
One of the most fiercely fought battles in the country's judicial history witnessed the veteran lawyer holding the fort from the front for the Hindu parties.
Assisted by a team of young associates, it was Parasaran's spiritual relationship he felt with Lord Ram that kept the nanogenarian lawyer going. He worked on each and every aspect of the case before the hearing began every day at 10.30am and after the day wrapped up at 4 pm or 5 pm.
"Parasaran was assisted by lawyers PV Yogeshwaran, Anirudh Sharma, Sridhar Pottaraju, Aditi Dani, Ashwin Kumar DS and Bhakti Vardhan Singh." The team was enthralled to see Parasaran's energy at his age — his elephantine memory had all important cases at his fingertips and research was as simple as Parasaran recalling a leaf out of his long book as an advocate.
Parasaran faced senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan from the Muslim side, who is known for throwing antics in the courtroom besides his extensive submissions. But Parasaran didn't lose his cool even once in the last 40 days — even when Dhavan tore up pages or called somebody's arguments from the Hindu side as foolish.
And when the arguments concluded on October 16, Parasaran waited for 15 minutes to meet Dhavan outside the court and to get a photograph with him. His message was simple but loud — lawyers may fight inside the courtroom, but the country should know they aren't fighting otherwise.
Parasaran's photograph with Dhavan right after the Supreme Court reserved its judgement in the Ayodhya case must serve as a reminder that whatever the verdict be, harmony must live on.