A humorous marriage of wit and pertinence

It is heartening to learn that gravitas of their position does not prevent Supreme Court justices from allowing themselves a chuckle or two, and nor are senior advocates above a cheeky quote to lighten up a long hearing.

In fact, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta recently likening his situation of being one of many advocates to present arguments on the issue of privacy before a nine-judge Bench to that of Elizabeth Taylor’s seventh husband — who reportedly remarked after marrying her that “I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m just not sure I can make it interesting!” — could well be applied in other forums too.

Of course, Mehta was lucky that even as the judges gamely continued with the Taylor analogy to conjecture rhetorically about the predicament of the eighth and ninth lawyers who would follow him, the SC bench did not ask him to clarify who he meant by seventh when considering she was married eight times but had only seven husbands, with Richard Burton being both fifth and sixth.

As the late Hollywood diva was no slouch in the quote department, a quick perusal of her list of bon mots could also prove very handy for anyone in need of a quick repartee. Even in this case, to reassure the judges, Mehta could also have alluded to her reported affirmation to all her husbands, “Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long….”