Quoting Doc Wilbury:

For your information, Salve has appeared at every stage pro bono for the victims of the Uphaar tragedy. He was even in the trial court for the case and continues up to the Supreme Court. He appeared pro bono for victims of sexual harassment before the Supreme Court. He is the Supreme Court appointed amicus for the forest bench matters over the last 10 years and continues to be so (even though it's an awfully thankless job). He was Solicitor General for India and appeared pro bono in the red beacon / VIP security case. I have personally engaged him pro bono in cases involving reservation and right to property. He may not have worked for the Bar as much as Venugopal has done, but let's not ignore his credentials.

You are one ignormus indeed.

Salve got the Padma Bhushan in 2002 - presumably as 'reward' for his services as soliciter general (1999-2002). I'm sure you agree that one cannot be rewarded twice for the same job LOL

Now about his appearing 'pro bono' , as a litigator it is quite common knowledge that Salve hardly ever does pro bono and even when he does it is more where the matter will give him some good publicity. If you are a lawyer you would understand that all seniors must do some pro bono matters to get that sheen of Social Responsibility and Salve is no exception.

So here are some uncomfortable questions for the Salve-admirers club

1) Has Salve ever taken up a political cause ?
2) Has Salve involved himself with the bar (like GS, Venugopal, etc.) ?
3) Has he taken up pro bono matters which are ALSO political hot potatoes (like encounter killings, Telengana statehood, corruption cases)?
4) Has he made any personal sacrifice for public interest (like R Nariman giving up a multi crore practice to be come a SC judge)?
5) Does he teach or lecture even once in 3 months at law schools? Does he contribute a few pennies for endowments, lectures or scholarships? (unlike Soli, Venugopal, RamJet)
6) Has he held ANY public office after 2002 ? Was he an MP / MLA ? (RamJet)

The forest bench amicus curae appointment that you speak is just an example of 'bad' judgment on his part. He accepted shortly after stepping down as SG and its no secret that he wished he never had.

So what has Salve done during 2002-2014 that makes him deserve the second highest honour (shared by L K Advani who has 50+ years of public service at the highest levels and who was Deputy Prime Minister).

1) He's made tons of money
2) He's represented the high and mighty,
3) He's logged a billion Frequent flyer miles,
4) He's set up shop in London
5) He's made tons of money
6) See 1 above

Salve may be a great lawyer but last I checked that's not the criteria for getting the Padma Vibhushan.

Quoting Doc Wilbury:

@Doc Wilbury, I think it is quite clear the point that is being made about Mr Harish Salve not deserving the award and I fully agree.

Your post is nothing of substance and since you say you "engage" several of these lawyers it seems you are not a practicing lawyer yourself which i guess explains why you cannot appreciate the criticism of Salve getting the Padma.

Btw lecturing at Oxford and NYU but not at NLSIU or DU is shameful. Let Mr Harish Salve get a US Medal of Freedom or a Knighthood but surely one cannot get an Indian award for lecturing at foreign universities and not at Indian ones. Even Amartya Sen taught in India for a decade before he received his Padmas.

I was present in court when Mr Harish Salve argued for a motion in the case against Justice Swantanter Kumar and since I practice law instead of engaging lawyers I have no choice but to be updated on such developments. As it happened, Harish Salve's arguments were not very convincing nor did he make himself free for really pursuing the matter which is why the Supreme Court appointed Fali Nariman and PP Rao as amicus curiae. Had Mr Harish Salve really spent energy and time on that matter it would not have slipped into obscurity with no action against the accused.

At least in the Delhi Bar and the SC Bar, Mr Salve's image is that of a sucessful lawyer who is aloof and content to enjoy his wealth with more on the horizon from his lucrative practice in London. He does not involve himself with anything emotely to do with the bar associations and the bar council.

Does this man deserve a Padma? Absolutely not. If he desrves it, so does Cyril Shroff, Vandana Shroff, Shardul (and the kids) Mukesh Ambani, Abhishek Singhvi, ..... etc etc

You decide