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Can you share with us what initially drew you to the field of law, and how your journey began?
I decided to become a lawyer and declared my intent as early as in my 7th grade and am happy to share that the passion for law burns bright. Whilst I come from a family of lawyers up to my grandfather’s generation, my father’s generation skipped it. My interest in law could have stemmed from the stories I heard of the cases my grandfather handled but I faced the struggles of a first-generation lawyer whilst commencing practice.
You’ve handled cases in Constitutional, Criminal, Commercial, IPR, and Cyber laws. You are also a trained mediator. How did you develop such a broad spectrum of expertise, and what challenges did you face along the way?
My initial focus was on Criminal and Constitutional laws. Interestingly, I studied law to practise criminal law – my interest in this field was strongly rooted on principles of human rights and liberties. I simultaneously also focussed on IPR as it was an evolving field at that time (1991). I value my association with an eminent and revered senior Shri. N. T. Vanamamalai, Senior Advocate for 3 years as a student intern and thereafter continued to practise from his chambers. My other senior during practice was Shri. V. Gopinath, Senior Advocate. The person who recognised my potential and added wind to my wings by making me part of the firm Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh A. Shroff & Co., (as it then was), albeit briefly, was Shri. Cyril Shroff, who I attribute my learning on client handling and composure apart from the skills I acquired in structuring of private equity and debt transactions. Apart from this, each senior counsel I have briefed for cases contributed to developing my skills and approach to law.
Whilst I honed my skills in Constitutional and criminal laws in my seniors’ chambers, my expertise in IPR was rooted in extensive reading (which in those days of no computers or devices meant opening books and visiting libraries) and applying the same to cases, I was briefed in from early days. I also learnt to apply my learnings from litigation to draft commercial and IPR transaction documentation. My involvement in Cyber evolved from around 1995-96 due to the IPR cases I handled in software licensing. From there I gained expertise in cyber laws reading the evolving legal landscape across foreign jurisdictions and model UN laws and honing my knowledge and skills and simultaneously keeping abreast of technological advances. With cyber being an exponentially evolving field, it was imperative for me to keep reading and honing my knowledge and skills in this field since then.
I was truly blessed to have grown in this profession without even an iota of concern over gender bias or obstacles due to the same. I did not face the usual obstacles that I have heard from other practitioners be it those of 1st generation or lady lawyers. This was certainly a boon considering the male-dominated fields of expertise I chose.
There were of course the other obstacles of developing clientele from scratch as a first -generation lawyer. I have in effect set up my practice from scratch thrice – first in Chennai, then Mumbai and thereafter before the Supreme Court in Delhi. Each time I believe, at the cost of sounding cliche, that it was sheer hard work that helped. Apart from hard work my sincere advice to the young practitioners is to maintain composure and a pleasant demeanour in Court and with peers, particularly with opponents. We, as practitioners, have to learn to distance ourselves from the briefs we handle and learn to be fair. I can safely confirm that it was my advice to clients to be fair that helped garner the respect and trust of my clients. For, in the long run, the clients benefit more from a balanced approach.
Mediation is again a passion, which I manifested in multiple forms from handling court referred mediations to assisting in formulation of and setting up of mediation centres. The training helped me to become a better Advocate, particularly whilst handling clients and negotiations such that I was able to successfully conclude litigations that were festering for several decades. Mediation training is another skill set I believe is critical for all law students.
Could you tell us more about your experience as Amicus Curiae before the Supreme Court and representing a State Government in the data protection case during the pandemic lockdown? What were the key issues at stake?
The Amicus Curiae experience in “Re: Prajwala Letter dt.18.2.2015. Violent Videos & Recommendations” was profound. Of the many cases handled, this was a satisfying journey, which gave me the opportunity to contribute to online safety of women and children. I proposed the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for this purpose, and argued for use of tech to protect users, which was a first. The consensus proposals mooted through the Government Committee I was part of and the Supreme Court making the same an order of court were seminal steps towards bettering online safety.
The case before the Kerala High Court was during the covid pandemic and another satisfying engagement wherein I advised use of anonymisation to protect sensitive personal health information, which the State Government accepted and submitted and was made an order of Court. Significantly, under Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (as amended) (“IT Act”) Government is not covered and hence volunteering as above was a proactive measure.
What inspired you to start Cyber Saathi®, and what are the primary goals and achievements of the foundation?
I founded the non-profit – Cyber Saathi Foundation ( ), which is focussed primarily on contributing to law and policy making in the field of cyber and emerging technologies and for online safety of women, children and other soft targets (such as LGBTQ+) through awareness and peer first responder support through “Be A Cyber Saathi” (Cyber Saathi translates to “Cyber Friend”).
I first conceptualised Cyber Saathi in 2016 after a meeting in the UK during my Chevening fellowship, when I realised the gravity and spread of offences against children. The reason for the name is also based on the young adult / child psyche i.e., that they will reach out to a friend first. Hence the name “Cyber Saathi”. I must add here that each of my fellowships have contributed to my evolution and helped me to contribute more to society. My first was the International Visitor Leadership Program – IPR (2005), and then the Cybersecurity Chevening Fellowship in 2016 and thereafter my Stanford CDDRL Fellowship on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law (2019).
You train judges, police, armed forces, and intelligence agencies on cyber laws and safety. How do you approach such a critical and diverse audience, and what are some key messages you emphasize?
My involvement in such training or capacity building initiatives commenced from about 2003 and continues. It has been most gratifying to have been able to contribute to nation building through these initiatives. I have conceptualised and conducted cyber law training programs spanning all subjects on cyber. Anyone who wishes to undertake such initiatives just needs to have the urge to contribute, be willing to set aside time for the same including personal time and be generous and conscientious in the preparation and sharing of knowledge. The field of cyberlaws is constantly evolving. Keeping abreast not only of law but also of technology innovations and developments is critical and ensuring the bridging of tech and law is essential to lend value to such initiatives.
You have been involved in various national and international committees, including presenting before the UN’s UNODC Ad Hoc Committee on Cross Border ICT Crimes and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT. How do these engagements influence policy and legal frameworks?
It is more about how much we can contribute to the narrative. I bring my expertise as a practitioner, which I believe is the most critical, as I can speak about the practical impediments to implementing a law at grassroots level. I also contribute, as a civil society member and speak for a balanced approach ensuring protection of human rights whilst enabling law enforcement. My engagement in training and capacity building for judges and police has contributed immensely to enriching discussions and negotiations at policy level.
As a prolific writer and author of several seminal books on technology laws, how do you see the role of legal writing in shaping public understanding and policy?
Books still form the foundation of practise of law and my intent was to contribute to “democratising practise of cyber”. I wanted more practitioners to enter this field of specialisation, particularly youngsters. The move from the structure I adapted in the first book to my second book probably also reflects the evolutionary process in legal writing. Whilst my first book Technology Laws Decoded (2017) published by LexisNexis was in effect a compendium on cyber laws, my second book CSassy Tales – Cybercrime Stories & The Law (2022) published by Oakbridge Publishing takes a unique approach of teaching through storytelling. I am glad to share that both books have been received extremely well both by practitioners and industry and the latter book by users also who were also the target audience.
What advice would you give to fresh law graduates who aspire to make a significant impact in the field of law, particularly in emerging areas like cyber law and digital rights?
The field of cyber is ripe for youngsters to enter and the scope is immense. With each new law that is enacted in the field of cyber, the opportunities open up further. For instance, data protection is a niche field of practice and once the rules are notified in India the floodgates would open up for advisory and adversarial practice. Similarly, cybercrime, IPR and cyber are fields which are already reasonably robust and will get further impetus from emerging laws such as the Digital India Act proposed.
Learning basics of the technology that drives a specific field of law, understanding the intersection between law and tech and also of existing and evolving laws and always applying fundamentals irrespective of whichever field of law that a practitioner chooses are my advice to any practitioner who decides to focus on cyber laws.
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