ABSTRACT

As a student Mahatma Gandhi had heard that the lawyer’s profession made lying a necessity. But this did not deter him or influence him against it. In one of the cases in South Africa, the Court either confirmed the award, with the error rectified, or else ordered the arbitrator to rectify the error. Gandhi was delighted; so were his client and senior counsel. And Gandhi was confirmed in his conviction that it was not impossible to practise law without compromising truth. During his professional work it was also his habit never to disguise his ignorance from his clients or his colleagues. Wherever Gandhi felt himself at sea he would advise his client to consult some other counsel, or, if he preferred to stick to him, Gandhi would ask him to let him seek the assistance of a senior counsel. This frankness earned Gandhi the unbounded affection and trust of his clients.