It was a case of the state government appealing against the acquittal of an accused.

When the state government's counsel began his submissions, the bench comprising of justices Abhay Manohar Sapre and Ashok Bhushan noticed that he did not have a copy of the Indian Penal Code.

"You are arguing for the state, you don't have IPC to read Section 302?" Justice Sapre asked the young lawyer. Sapre then recalled an incident from his lawyer days, when his senior, Rajendra Singh, then aged 85, was seen reading Secton 302 from IPC

Young Sapre then asked his senior: "Sir, you are in your 80s, and you would have read S 302 several times during the last 56 years for arguing bail applications". Pat came the reply from Sapre's then-senior: "Every time I read the four lines in S 302, I get a different line of thinking, different line of argument".

Justice Sapre said that was the dedication of the lawyer who was 85 years old, leaving the 30+ year-old lawyer standing before him to ruminate.