Your Nov 18 cover story, The Man Who Knows Too Much, may be an eye-opener for many, but it is nothing new to a person who has wandered the verandahs of the Supreme Court, hearing gossip and anecdotes, for the last 50 years. Most of our law officers, barring early ones like M.C. Setalvad, C.K. Daphtary and S.V. Gupte, were more or less henchmen of the central government. It didn’t dawn on them that they were the occupants of a constitutional post and as such had to discharge some basic obligations toward the nation. They were brazen in protecting their masters.
C.V. Francis, New Delhi
This is the second cover story on him by a magazine. Open did one first; now it is Outlook. Do we smell a rat here? Does the Family feel that he needs to be dumped?
Kiran Voleti, Chennai
When one hires a lawyer, one expects him to tender sound legal advice and not tailor his opinion to suit the client’s interest. That only leaves the lawyer wealthier and the client poorer. The way the government is losing money hand over fist thanks to Vahanvati is a case in point. Unfortunately, the loss in reality is being borne not by the government but by the people of India.
Bonita, Chennai
Two things favour Vahanvati strongly. One, his proximity to 10, Janpath; and two, his social background. Let him continue to (mis)guide the UPA government for another six months; after the elections, he should precede the prime minister in submitting his resignation.
N. Ramamurthy, Chennai
