Complaint of judicial misconduct against Justice Gita Mittal and request for transfer of the matter from her Bench by Seema Sapra, General Electric whistleblower in Writ Petition (Civil) 1280/ 2012 – in the matter of Seema Sapra v. General Electric Company and Others in the Delhi High Court

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Seema Sapra <seema.sapra@googlemail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 7:00 PM
Subject: Complaint of misconduct against Justice Gita Mittal and request for transfer of the matter from her Bench by Seema Sapra, General Electric whistleblower in Writ Petition (Civil) 1280/ 2012 – in the matter of Seema Sapra v. General Electric Company and Others in the Delhi High Court
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Joseph" <fwarin@gibsondunn.com>, "Chesley, John" <JChesley@gibsondunn.com>, pk65sharma@yahoo.co.in, confidential@sfo.gsi.gov.uk, public.enquiries@sfo.gsi.gov.uk, "ohhdl@dalailama.com" <ohhdl@dalailama.com>, dhir@dhirassociates.com, amit.sibal@amitsibal.com, stephen.vogt@ic.fbi.gov, luis.quesada@ic.fbi.gov, steven.kessler@ic.fbi.gov, henry.gittleman@ic.fbi.gov, renn.cannon@ic.fbi.gov, stephen.gaudin@ic.fbi.gov, eric.peterson@ic.fbi.gov, jeff.bedford@ic.fbi.gov, david.brooks@ic.fbi.gov, robert.clifford@ic.fbi.gov, mary.warren@ic.fbi.gov, bill.nicholson@ic.fbi.gov, frank.teixeira@ic.fbi.gov, richard.cavalieros@ic.fbi.gov, timothy.langan@ic.fbi.gov, sharon.kuo@ic.fbi.gov, kingman.wong@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.bodony@ic.fbi.gov, christopher.mcmurray@ic.fbi.gov, ralph.hope@ic.fbi.gov, eric.metz@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.baldwin@ic.fbi.gov, alejandro.barbeito@ic.fbi.gov, cary.gleicher@ic.fbi.gov, paul.haertel@ic.fbi.gov, greg.cox@ic.fbi.gov, lazaro.andino@ic.fbi.gov, gabriel.ramirez@ic.fbi.gov, tom.sobocinski@ic.fbi.gov, benjamin.walker@ic.fbi.gov, kirk.striebich@ic.fbi.gov, "Snyder, David" <david.snyder@ic.fbi.gov>, gregory.cox@ic.fbi.gov, katherine.andrews@ic.fbi.gov, carolyn.willson@ic.fbi.gov, mark.nowak@ic.fbi.gov, stuart.wirtz@ic.fbi.gov, lesley.buckler@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.dudzinski@ic.fbi.gov, william.peterson@ic.fbi.gov, connally.brown@ic.fbi.gov, leo.navarette@ic.fbi.gov, lawrence.futa@ic.fbi.gov, gregory.shaffer@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.clegg@ic.fbi.gov, adishaggarwala@yahoo.com, adishaggarwala@hotmail.com, vsondhi@luthra.com, muraritiwari.adv@gmail.com, adv.priyankatyagi@gmail.com, sarlakaushik@yahoo.com, goswamiandassociates@yahoo.co.in, vedbaldev@rediffmail.com, rakeshtikuadvocate@yahoo.com, kkmanan@rediffmail.com, ars.chauhan.co@gmail.com, Usama Siddiqui <musiddiqui@gmail.com>, Rajiv Khosla <advrajivkhosla@gmail.com>, rakeshkochar@hotmail.com, khatri.surya@hotmail.com, puneet mittal <puneetmittal9@gmail.com>, "advamit.sharma@gmail.com" <advamit.sharma@gmail.com>, abhay kumar verma <akvadvocates@gmail.com>, Attorneynitin@yahoo.com, attorney.rmishra@gmail.com, jaibirnagar@gmail.com, bharati@chintan-india.org, info@chintan-india.org, indu@igsss.net, Subramanian Swamy <swamy39@gmail.com>
Cc: Seema Sapra <seema.sapra@gmail.com>, Seema Sapra <seemasapra@hotmail.com>

To the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court,

I am the petitioner in the captioned matter and have filed an application dseeking recusal from the matter by the Division Bench of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Deepa Sharma. This application has remained unheard and undecided for three months.

I am making a complaint of judicial misconduct against Justice Gita Mittal and am providing additional Grounds for recusal by Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Deepa Sharma.

In the alternative I seek orders on the administrative side for transfer of the captioned matter to another Bench.  

1. Gross Judicial misconduct by Justice Gita Mittal in engaging a Canadian national (Mr Fahad Siddiqui) as an intern in her judicial chamber in February 2013 soon after this matter was sent to the Division Bench headed by her. Not only is Mr Fahad Siddiqui a foreign national and therefore ineligible to serve as an intern with an Indian judge, his background raises credible suspicion about his likely ties/ contact with the US Central Intelligence Agency (the CIA). What is of even greater concern is the fact that Mr Fahad Siddiqui has close connections to an American law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges which has historically very close ties to General Electric. Weil Gotshal & Manges is also directly connected to this matter as this law firm was/ is handling the shareholder law suits filed against General Electric Company in 2009 in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York (SDNY). This writ petition is connected to these laws-suits as it provides evidence of corrupt dealings between General Electric Company and its officers and the Indian government which would constitute important evidence against General Electric for these US law suits. The petitioner has also complained that General Electric officers and lawyers covered up evidence of these corrupt dealings and fabricated false evidence (including by lying to the Petitioner) after and because these law suits were instituted in the United States in April 2009 and because General Electric officers and lawyers feared that the evidence of corrupt dealings with the Indian government would get exposed as a consequence of the Us shareholder lawsuits. In the writ petition the petitioner has stated the following in paragraphs 15, 16 and 17:

“In 2008-2009, GE had participated in an earlier round of the diesel locomotive tender once again through an Indian subsidiary. In February 2009, GE acting through its Indian subsidiary made a mistake in its financial bid for this tender. GE’s Indian subsidiary was not awarded the tender as a result. The Petitioner has complained that Respondent 1 violated United States Securities disclosure rules by not disclosing to investors in February 2009 that its Indian subsidiary had lost the multi-billion dollar bid. The Petitioner has complained that thereafter in response to shareholder lawsuits filed against it in the United States, Respondent 1 attempted to cover up and tamper with evidence pertaining to its obligation to disclose the bid rejection to investors. The Petitioner has recently contacted Judge Richard J. Holwell (now retired) and Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska of the United States District Court, Southern District of New York about her whistleblower complaints of evidence tampering in connection with these investor class-action lawsuits against Respondents 1 and 8 and against other directors and officers of Respondent 1.   Copies of these communications sent by the Petitioner are attached hereto as Annexure P-6 Colly.

The Petitioner has complained that GE employees engaged in criminal conduct amounting to obstruction of justice under US federal statute and tampered with evidence about events that occurred in February 2009. These facts and this evidence are relevant to the cases filed by GE investors before the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. The Petitioner complained that material information regarding GE’s failed bid for a multi-billion dollar tender for an Indian Railways project for manufacture and sale of diesel locomotives was not disclosed to GE investors in February 2009. This information was capable of influencing share-prices and thus relevant to the shareholder lawsuits filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. She further complained that once these lawsuits were filed in 2009, GE employees tampered with the evidence establishing knowledge of this failed bid by GE officers including Mr.Jeffrey Immelt, Mr. John Rice and Mr. Lorenzo Simonelli. The Petitioner has pointed out to GE that evidence showed that offences amounting to obstruction of justice have been committed. Tampering of evidence, asking employees to lie, suppression/ destruction of evidence and creation of a misleading record to influence a United States Federal Court proceeding would amount to US federal offences and obstruction of justice under US federal statutes.

Among other evidence of what happened around GE’s failed bid in February 2009, the Petitioner has seen an email sent by GE Transportation employee Mr. Brett Begole to Mr. John Rice, Vice Chairman of Respondent 1 and Mr. Karan Bhatia (another GE lawyer) in February 2009 suggesting that a news report from February 2009 that had hinted at GE’s difficulties with the bid be either allowed to die a natural death or that senior Government of India officials (Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Mr. Ronen Sen, the then Indian Ambassador in Washington) be spoken to. This email was shown to the Petitioner by Mr. Jeffrey Eglash, (a GE attorney appointed by Respondents 11 and 10 to investigate the Petitioner’s whistle-blower complaints)  in New Delhi in late 2010 when he met her during a compliance investigation. This email was in a folder compiled by Mr. F Joseph Warin and Mr. John Chesley from Gibson Dunn, a US law firm also allegedly retained by GE to investigate the Petitioner’s complaints. This email is suggestive of corruption and demonstrates why GE officers, attorneys and employees might have wanted to prevent their documentary record pertaining to the failed February 2009 bid from being scrutinized by a United States Federal Court.”  

2. The petitioner refers to and relies upon the affidavit filed by her on 9 July 2012 and especially paragraphs (203-231) in this matter on the issue of evidence of General Electric corruption and its connection to the US shareholder lawsuits filed against General Electric in 2009.

3. Further the petitioner also refers to and relies upon an affidavit filed by her in this matter on 11 October 2012 titled “ADDITIONAL AFFIDAVIT OF PETITIONER DATED OCTOBER 11, 2012 BEING FILED IN ADDITIONAL RESPONSE TO THE COUNTER AFFIDAVIT TO THE WRIT PETITION FILED BY RESPONDENTS 1, 6 AND 7 ON THE SUBJECT OF INTERNAL GENERAL ELECTRIC EMAILS FROM FEBRUARY 2009 EXCHANGED BETWEEN BRETT BEGOLE, JOHN RICE AND KARAN BHATIA REFERRING TO MONTEK SNGH AHLUWALIA AND RONEN SEN IN CONNECTION WITH DIFFICULTIES FACED BY GENERAL ELECTRIC IN BEING AWARDED THE CONTRACT FOR THE MARHOWRA LOCOMOTIVE FACTORY IN 2009”.

4. The class action lawsuits referred to in the petitioner’s affidavit dated 11 October 2012 (Karen R. Christiansen versus Jeffrey Immelt and Others, 09 CIV 1951, Denis G. Pare versus Jeffrey R. Immelt and others 09 CIV 2566, James Klein versus General Electric Company and others – 09 Civ 2582, and other connected lawsuits against General Electric Company and its officers) were/ are all being handled by Weil Gotshal & Manges on behalf of General Electric Company.

5. Documentary evidence shows that Fahad Siddiqui is a Canadian national.

6. Mr Fahad Siddiqui was in Syria in 2008 where he apparently took Arabic courses at the University of Damascus. He worked for the Canadian foreign office in Washington DC in 2003. He has a BA degree (2007) from the University of Toronto. In 2008-2009, he studied for an MA in Human Rights at SOAS in the UK.  Since 2010, he has been enrolled at the Osgoode Hall Law School (York University) in Canada.

7. Fahad Siddiqui has worked and traveled extensively in troubled hotspots including Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Libya and other places in North Africa. His time spent in these politically troubled areas coincides with the period immediately preceding the so-called Arab spring revolutions/ revolts. Even the New York Times has acknowledged the role of the CIA in inciting/ supporting these so-called spontaneous protests that resulted in regime change in several strategic middle-eastern countries. 

8. While in Egypt in 2010 immediately before the protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, Mr Fahad Siddiqui worked with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies which is funded by foundations linked to the CIA. The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies has been accused by the Egyptian authorities of being funded by the CIA and of fomenting civil unrest in Egypt which led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. In 2010, while Fahad Siddiqui was working with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, a colleague of his there, Amr Salah, was arrested by Egyptian authorities in a crack down on foreign funded NGOs. Documentary evidence is available establishing links between the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and between Ahmed Maher General, the coordinator of the April 6th Youth Movement in Egypt believed to have been trained and funded by the CIA.

9.  Fahad Siddiqui has also worked on/in Sudan, another country that has seen heavy involvement by the CIA and which has also undergone regime change.  

10. With this background of suspicious activity in the middle-east, it is extremely likely that Mr Fahad Siddiqui has CIA contacts and that he was/ is a undercover CIA agent.    

11. In 2012, Fahad Siddiqui worked with Weil Gotshal & Manges, a law-firm with very close connections and ties to General Electric Company. General Electric Company is a marquee client of Weil Gotshal & Manges and their association (even at the managerial partner level) goes back several decades. Weil Gotshal & Manges handles very high profile and high stake legal work for General Electric Company and earns millions of dollars from General Electric Company every year.

12. Fahad Siidiqui worked with Weil Gotshal & Manges as a summer associate in 2012. Summer associate positions are typically used by US law firms to make employment offers to law students. According to a news report in the well-known blog Above the Law, all 2012 summer associates at Weil Gotshal & Manges received employment offers. Mr Fahad Siddiqui therefore also had an employment offer/ contract with Weil Gotshal & Manges at the time he was interning with Justice Gita Mittal in February 2013.

13. As already stated Weil Gotshal & Manges were/ are representing General Electric Company in the 2009 US class action lawsuits which are connected to the present writ petition.

14. Therefore, the internship of Fahad Siddiqui (who has close ties to Weil, Gotshal & Manges and probably to the CIA as well) in Justice Gita Mittal’s chamber in February 2013 when she was hearing this writ petition creates a serious conflict of interest situation.

15. Fahad Siddiqui had access to Justice Gita Mittal in her chamber and in her residence, he had access to all her staff, he had access to court files including the court records of this writ petition. Fahad Siddiqui was in a position to discuss this matter with Justice Gita Mittal. As an intern he was in a position to provide assistance to Justice Gita Mittal on this matter. He had access to Justice Gita Mittal’s personal notes on this matter. He had access to judicial deliberations on this matter and would have been in a position to know how Justice Gita Mittal was inclined to deal with this matter.

16. Given his background and his very probable connections to the CIA, Fahad Siddiqui’s “internship” with Justice Gita Mittal constitutes nothing less than in infiltration by General Electric Company into Justice Gita Mittal’s chamber while she was/ is hearing this corruption writ petition filed against General Electric Company.

17. Given Fahad Siddiqui’s likely CIA background and his contacts with Weil, Gotshal & Manges, it cannot be ruled out that Fahad Siddiqui was used by General Electric Company to approach and influence Justice Gita Mittal in this matter and that he acted as a conduit for communication and influence between General Electric Company and its lawyers in Weil Gotshal &      Manges and Justice Gita Mittal.

18. The concerns of the Petitioner concerning Justice Gita Mittal hearing this matter are not only based upon reasonable apprehension of bias but also upon actual bias displayed by Justice Gita Mittal in favour of General Electric Company and against the Petitioner which is evident from the conduct of judicial proceedings in this matter and from the manner in which orders have been passed in this matter and from the orders themselves.

19.  This writ petition against General Electric went to Justice Gita Mittal's Bench in February 2013. At around the same time, Fahad Siddiqui started to intern with Justice Gita Mittal. 

20. Fahad Siddiqui was also blogging about this internship on an internet blog.

21. A foreign national cannot intern for an Indian judge. An intern has the closest possible access to judicial functioning with unhindered access to judicial deliberations, judicial notes, judicial files and to the inner-most functioning of the court.

22. Only Indian citizens are eligible to be Judges or even employees of the Supreme Court and High Courts. A foreign national cannot get access to judicial chambers under the garb of an internship.

23. Fahad Siddiqui is not even studying law in India. He would therefore not even be eventually qualified to practice law in India.

24. Fahad Siddiqui has not studied Indian law, so he was not qualified to provide any possible assistance on Indian to Justice Gita Mittal.

25. Fahad Siddiqui has no prior connection to India. His entire prior career has focused on the Middle East., where his activities could reasonably lead to questions about whether he was an undercover CIA agent.

26. Thereafter since 2010, Fahad Siddiqui has been studying law in Canada. He worked for Weil Gotshal & Manges in 2012 and obtained a job offer with a contract. It also appears that Fahad Siddiqui has an offer to intern with a Canadian Supreme Court judge after completion of his law degree.

27. Why then would Fahad Siddiqui with his likely ties to the CIA and with his demonstrated ties to Weil Gotshal & Manges and through them to General Electric Company, suddenly decide to come to India and intern with an Indian High Court Judge for about 4 weeks and that too in the middle of the academic term? He had no prior connection to or interest in India.

28. The fact of this unusual internship and the timing of this internship with a judge who was/ is hearing a writ petition with serious charges of corruption leveled against General Electric Company cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. These facts cannot but raise suspicions and concerns about whether and why Fahad Siddiqui was sent here on behalf of General Electric Company and whether and how he was used to influence Justice Gita Mittal.

29. For instance, Fahad Siddiqui had access to Justice Gita Mittal’s chamber, office and residence. He could have used his personal mobile phone to connect her to General Electric’s lawyers/ agents/ officers in the United States.

30. Fahad Siddiqui's blog posts about Justice Gita Mittal are also inappropriate. In one post he writes that internal sources at the High Court have "privately" told him that Justice Gita Mittal is a good bet for appointment to the Supreme Court. Was Fahad Siddiqui being used to send a message to Justice Gita Mittal that she could further/ boost her judicial career and status by subverting the present writ petition and by helping to cover up the corruption complaints made against General Electric Company?  

31. Not only was Fahad Siddiqui's internship with Justice Gita Mittal inappropriate and improper, it was also in clear violation of rules and Indian law.

32. A foreign national cannot intern with an Indian Judge. In fact, the facts described above establish a major security breach where a Judge’s chamber was most likely infiltrated by an undercover CIA agent.

33. Fahad Siddiqui’s internship with Justice Gita Mittal was unlawful. The role of Justice Gita Mittal and the then Registrar General of the Delhi High Court (now Justice V P Vaish) in facilitating and approving this illegal internship requires to be probed.

34. An intelligence official looking at Fahad Siddiqui’s background would first ask if this person had any links to intelligence agencies like the CIA.

35. The issue of Fahad Siddiqui’s contact with Justice Gita Mittal and her staff and the facts, issues and concerns presented above constitute very serious grounds for recusal by Justice Gita Mittal from hearing this writ petition against General Electric Company.  In the alternative I am requesting that this matter be transferred from this Bench and be placed before another Division Bench.

36. Some documents describing Mr Fahad Siddiqui’s background and his likely links to the CIA and documents describing links ties between General Electric Company and Weil Gotshal & Manges are annexed hereto. The petitioner is able if required to place additional documents on record that support the petitioner’s concerns about the CIA links of Mr Fahad Siddiqui.

Seema Sapra

Some background information about Fahad Siddiqui available on the internet

Fahad Siddiqui’s email address  - mf.siddiqui@gmail.com

Fahad Siddiqui’s linked in profile Fahad Siddiqui JD Candidate, Osgoode Hall Toronto, Ontario, Canada Law Practice Previous 1.                              Delhi High Court,  2.                              Weil Gotshal and Manges,  3.                              Centre for Constitutional Rights Education 1.                              York University - Osgoode Hall Law School 94connections ca.linkedin.com/pub/fahad-siddiqui/38/316/55b Background Experience Law Clerk to the Honourable Madam Justice Gita Mittal Delhi High Court 2013 – 2013 (less than a year)New Delhi Area, India Researched Indian jurisprudence in the areas of constitutional, criminal, administrative, and human rights law, and drafted reasons for judgment Summer Associate Weil Gotshal and Manges May 2012 – August 2012 (4 months)New York, NY Volunteer Centre for Constitutional Rights 2012 – 2012 (less than a year)New York, NY Volunteer caseworker for federal suits filed in U.S. District Court for the SDNY and for DC. Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Research Fellow Osgoode Hall Law School April 2011 – August 2011 (5 months)Toronto, ON Conducted comparative legal research on patent and trademark law, with a focus on African jurisdictions Legal Officer Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 2010 – 2010 (less than a year)Cairo, Egypt Managed an advocacy project for NGO with consultative status at the UN, including drafting complaints submitted to international and regional human rights bodies, and representing the organization at the 47th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (Banjul, the Gambia) and at the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Kampala, Uganda) Legal Intern REDRESS 2009 – 2009 (less than a year)London, United Kingdom Conducted legal research, including co-authoring submission to a Committee of the UK Parliament and a comparative study on statutory powers of security services Intern Department of Foreign Affairs 2003 – 2003 (less than a year) Embassy of Canada to the United States, Washington, DC Languages French Urdu Hindi Arabic   Education York University - Osgoode Hall Law School Doctor of Law (J.D.) 2010 – 2013 School of Oriental and African Studies, U. of London Master of Arts (M.A.), International Human Rights Law 2008 – 2009 University of Damascus Certificate in Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic Language Center, Higher Institute of Languages 2008 – 2008 University of Toronto - University of Trinity College Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science, History 2007 Fahad Siddiqui's Experience Law Clerk to the Honourable Madam Justice Gita Mittal Delhi High Court 2013 – 2013 (less than a year) New Delhi Area, India Summer Associate Weil Gotshal and Manges May 2012 – August 2012 (4 months) New York, NY Volunteer Centre for Constitutional Rights 2012 – 2012 (less than a year) New York, NY Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Research Fellow Osgoode Hall Law School April 2011 – August 2011 (5 months) Toronto, ON Legal Officer Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 2010 – 2010 (less than a year) Cairo, Egypt Legal Intern REDRESS 2009 – 2009 (less than a year) London, United Kingdom Intern Department of Foreign Affairs 2003 – 2003 (less than a year) Embassy of Canada to the United States, Washington, DC

Fahad Siddiqui selected for clerkship with Canadian Supreme Court Judge in 2014 Four Osgoode students were selected for clerkships at the Supreme Court of Canada for 2014-15.  Lara Kinkartz (Justice Michael Moldaver), Ian McKellar (Justice Andromache Karakatsanis), Geneviève Murray (Justice Richard Wagner) and Fahad Siddiqui (Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella) will begin their one-year clerkships in September 2014.

Message from Fahad Siddiqui posted on the website of Osgoode Hall law school Fahad Siddiqui Hello Osgoode: My name is Fahad and I am a second-year student and first-time member of student council.  All of us at Student Council are responsible for representing your interests to faculty and administration, and for facilitating student action to improve the law school. If you have an idea, comment or concern, stop one of us in the hall or send us an emailfahadsiddiqui@osgoode.yorku.ca. It's our job to listen.  If you're interested in a more active role, I encourage you to join one of the many faculty committees (which govern the school) as a student representative. Click around to find out more. On a more personal note, I have a background in international human rights work in Africa and the Middle East and a graduate degree from the UK, so please feel free to get in touch if discussing any of this would help. Have a great year and don't hesitate to get in touch.

Fahad Siddiqui is a third-year student at Osgoode Hall Law School. He holds a BA in History from the University of Toronto and a Master’s in International Law from the University of London where he graduated top of his class. He then spent a year with a well-known human rights NGO in Egypt acting as Legal Officer for North Africa and Sudan. In this role, Fahad travelled throughout North Africa and represented jailed human rights activists before the African Commission on Human Rights. As a law student, Fahad has maintained an A-average and received numerous scholarships and awards. He has also lead diversity initiatives, including academic success and professional development workshops for first-year students of colour, and is a mentor to a number of Osgoode and York University students. This past summer, Fahad worked as both a Volunteer Caseworker for the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York, and as a Summer Associate in the New York office of one the world’s leading international law firms. Following his graduation from Osgoode, Fahad will be clerking at the Ontario Court of Appeal, where he will complete his articles.

http://www.redress.org/news-and-events/blog/post/6-in-memoriam-abdelsalam-hassan Despite his pedigree, Abdelsalam welcomed me to REDRESS by patiently listening to what must have seemed like silly questions, by offering sage counsel borne of his vast experience in all things Sudan and through his trademark wit delivered with a broad smile. Despite the difficulties he faced in work and in life--or perhaps because of them--Abdelsalam projected a comforting sense of warmth and understanding to those around him. His personality had a way of filling the room: no one was exempt from a humorous jab, no subject was too sensitive for ridicule. Abdelsalam had much wisdom to impart. He was also a model of courage and integrity for anyone working towards justice and freedom or trying to make sense of the world. The world has lost a true fighter, teacher and friend. I will never forget his kindness. May he rest in peace. Fahad Siddiqui

Not the UAE Dany Assaf (How Competition Helped Fuel The Arab Spring – May 7) would have us believe that the example of the United Arab Emirates galvanized Arab youth to take to the streets in revolutionary fervour. But the Spring’s call for universal rights, economic equality and representative government could not be more at odds with the sectarian and gender inequality, wealth disparity, and oppressive military dictatorships characteristic of the Gulf. One look at the protests in Bahrain against that state’s hosting of a Formula One race shows that the people of the Middle East would like nothing less than to emulate “what the UAE had done.” Fahad Siddiqui, former project director, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Toronto http://m.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/letters/may-9-letters-to-the-editor/article4107225/?service=mobile

Fahad Siddiqui completed a master's in international law from SOAS and was head of desk for North Africa and Sudan at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.

Above the Law 06 Aug 2012 at 6:33 PM Summer Associate Offer Rates (2012): A Round-Up By DAVID LAT He got an offer. Did you? Truth be told, I’m not a fan of law firms giving offers to 100 percent of their summer associates. Whatever happened to selectivity? Given how perfunctory the hiring process is, there has to be at least one mistake in any summer class of decent size, right? … Alas, Biglaw firms are not obliging me. Let’s find out which firms are indiscriminately doling out offers to their summers…. Here are the firms, with office locations indicated parenthetically if known, that have 100 percent offer rates for this year’s class of summer associates (please email us if you see any errors): §                     Alston & Bird (New York) §                     Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (D.C.) §                     Hogan Lovells (New York) §                     Kasowitz Benson §                     Kramer Levin (New York) §                     Latham & Watkins (Houston, Los Angeles) §                     Mayer Brown (New York) §                     Milbank Tweed (New York) §                     Quinn Emanuel (Los Angeles and San Francisco, “helicopter evacuees and all”) §                     Schulte Roth & Zabel §                     Weil Gotshal & Manges (New York) §                     Willkie Farr & Gallagher (New York) If you have corrections to this list — i.e., a firm or office listed above that does NOT belong on the 100 percent list — please email us at tips@abovethelaw.com, subject line “Summer Associate Offer Rate Correction,” or text us at 646-820-TIPS (646-820-8477; texts only, not a voice line). …

Fahad Siddiqui’s blog posts about internship with Justice Gita Mittal

 

First-Hand Impressions: Clogged Courts and Access to Justice

Posted on February 25, 2013

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In my first two weeks at the Delhi High Court, I have had the chance to observe some fascinating trials, but also procedural hearings. Every morning from 10:30 to noon in Court number 33, a two-judge bench comprising the Honourable Justices Mittal and Midhaentertains motions on scheduling, discovery requests, and preliminary orders.

One morning, as each case was called to be heard, I noticed that lawyer after lawyer approached the lectern to ask for the matter to be passed over, or postponed. Usually, the lawyer responsible for the file was not even present—a friend would make the request on their behalf, either because the lawyer responsible was busy with another case or was simply running late.

The unprecedented backlog of cases clogging India’s court system has been front page news lately. It’s no exaggeration to say that India probably has the slowest courts and the biggest backlog of cases of any judicial system in the world. Around 60,000 caseswere pending in the Supreme Court at the end of 2012. Over 4 million cases were pending in India’s High Courts at the end of 2011. And almost 27 million cases were pending in Subordinate Courts at the end of 2011. It’s crude math, but that’s almost as many unresolved cases as there are people in Canada.

As the then-Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court admitted in 2009, it could take 466 yearsto get through the High Court’s docket.

The volume of cases cannot be explained by India’s size alone. For example, 26 percent of the cases stuck in Indian courts are more than five years old. And in some types of disputes, you can expect to be tied in litigation for much longer than that. Take the sad but typical case of Salman Rushdie’s father:

“If you are embroiled in a court case in India, be prepared—you may die before the verdict. The father of India-born author Sulman Rushdie did. As did his opponent in the court battle over a New Delhi property. The case began in 1977 and the verdict came 35 years later, in 2012. Lawyers say there are countless cases where litigants have died during the course of decades-long trials.” 

Every family has its own horror story. A member of the High Court staff explained how a relative contested the appropriation of lands that had been in their family for generations. 40 years later, the relative is dead, but the case goes on “on principle.” He suspects that many in similar circumstances have dropped their cases knowing that governments can outlast and outspend even the most aggrieved landowner.

The backlog in the criminal justice system is even more concerning. Defendants (known as “under-trials” in India) are almost always kept in jail until their trials are complete. Like civil cases, criminal proceedings take years to wrap-up. And where a conviction results, under-trials are also likely to remain in jail while they appeal. All of which is exacerbated by the reality that most under-trials are poor, and that police services in India are legendary for slow investigations, a lack of accountability, and the failure to enforce even the most basic laws.

Take the case of a recent criminal appeal I had the chance to observe. Three members of a poor family were appealing their convictions of murder. They were accused of wanting to cut a daughter-in-law out of some property rights by burning her alive. They had spent seven years in jail awaiting trial, during trial, and waiting for their appeals to be heard. They were only able to appeal because their lawyers took on their files pro bono. And, in a ruling handed down last week, the appeals were allowed on the basis that the police investigation was shoddy, and these three under-trials were ordered released. (I’ll post a link to the order here as soon as it is released online)

Explanations for the backlog are not in short supply. The politicians point to the judiciary and the bar. The judiciary blames the government but also the lawyers for the “falling standards of the legal profession” and the lack of settlement culture (suggesting that mediation is less lucrative than protracted litigation). And the lawyers insist that the system needs more judges, better infrastructure, and less corruption.

Although these problems are not new, the brutal gangrape of a 23-year old medical student in New Delhi late last year has renewed focus on the pace of justice. As a result of the outrage that erupted in the aftermath of the events of December 16, the Delhi High Court set up five special “fast-track” courts to hear cases involving charges of sexual violence. The idea is that courts dedicated to hearing one type of case will ensure judicial oversight over police handling of sexual assault complaints, encourage victims to come forward, and speed up the disposal of the resulting trials. The problem is that speeding up criminal trials may lead to inaccurate results, which only increases the pressure on appellate courts. As one lawyer quipped, fast-track courts can very quickly lead to “fast-track injustice.”

It isn’t surprising to learn that many Indians are turning away from the courts and looking elsewhere to resolve their disputes. As this excellent piece of research shows, increasing rates of litigation in India correlate positively with improvements in social and economic well-being, but level off as dissatisfaction with the justice system grows. The relationship works the other way too: judicial inefficiency can also adversely effect economic development.

Everyone I’ve spoken to at the Delhi High Court is aware of the problem. Court masters, legal researchers, and interns agree that things must change soon. Just last week, in the course of oral arguments in a constitutional challenge to a Delhi Government law that increases court fees, Justice Mittal herself noted that judicial delays impede the right to access justice.

Hopefully, the lawyers who appear in Court 33 every morning were listening.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Replies

First Morning: Clerking at the Delhi High Court

Posted on February 9, 2013

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After hours of flights, thousands of kilometers, and some red tape, I was ready. Thanks to the efforts of many people at Osgoode, I had made it to New Delhi to start my first day as a law clerk to Justice Gita Mittal at the Delhi High Court.

I had never been to Delhi before, much less to the High Court. Aside from a brief email exchange with the Private Secretary to Justice Mittal, I had no idea where I was going or what I was in for.

After breakfast, a quick run, and a bumpy richskaw ride, I was good to go.

Recapping that first morning, just a few weeks ago:

9:30am Arrive at High Court Complex. Surrounded by unceremonious cement walls topped with barbed wire, the High Court complex is located in the heart of New Delhi. The various buildings inside the complex house administrative departments, lawyers’ offices, judges’ chambers, and the courtrooms themselves. The High Court grounds are also home to stationary vendors, photocopying spots, and a few street-style canteens (food stalls) and coffee stands.

Getting in is not easy. Access to the complex is restricted to members of the Bar, litigants with a case scheduled for that day,and staff with Court-issued ID (which I didn’t have yet). Gate No. 5 (where I was instructed to enter) is, like all entrances to the complex, manned by army staff toting big guns and serious expressions.

My blue jacket and tie obviously set me apart from the average litigant, and from the lawyers sporting the mandatory black jacket, black robes, and white clerical collar. The guards exchanged skeptical looks as I approached. Predictably, my attempt to talk my way in fails: if my accented Hindi didn’t give me away, my red backpack did.

9:50am Call for help. Thankfully, Mr. Kapil Sharma (the wonderfully efficient Private Secretary) answers his phone and tells me to sit tight.

9:57am Help arrives and we’re through two sets of metal detectors and x-ray scanners (the red backpack is slowing us down) along with a stream of formally robed lawyers and bedraggled looking litigants. It’s not over: there are two more checkpoints on the way inside. We chat with more gun-toting army folk and do the whole metal detector-frisk-xray procedure again. Twice. This kind of security is probably the norm in many courts, but I’m not used to the number of armed guards patrolling the hallways.

10:15am We’re in. I follow Mr. Sharma up three sets of stairs and into a narrow office 10 feet wide and maybe 20 feet deep. Mr. Sharma’s name is printed on a fraying piece of paper taped to the door that looks like it was lovingly made by one of his kids (it wasn’t). There are also two computers that look like they work (which they mostly do). Case files and case law reporters are everywhere. I can count the number of times I’ve opened a case reporter on one hand, but as I later learn, old school research is still alive and well here. Another half dozen people (court staff and legal researchers) have already claimed their few feet of space and are busy working.

10:17am Justice Calls. Before I can sit or say hello, Mr. Sharma is at his desk and has taken a call—“down the hall on the right” he points. Off I go, squeezing my way out of the office. Down the hall, I spot a series of numbered courtrooms on the left, more gun-toting army folk patrolling, and a series of what turn out to be judges’ chambers on the right. I spot the name-plate I’m looking for: “Honourable Madam Justice Gita Mittal.”

10:20am Justice Mittal is a senior Judge of the High Court. Before being named to the bench, she was a well-respected litigator with a wide-ranging practice in Delhi. She is especially well-known for being active on women’s issues and early childhood education. Many of the Court staff privately insist that she is a good bet to be nominated to the Supreme Court. In person, she is as friendly as they come. Justice Mittal invites me to sit and asks about my family, Osgoode, and whether I’m eating properly. After a brief run down of the cases on her docket, the usher knocks and issues “ma’am” to Court to hear motions.

10:30am Time to Work. In the hall on my way back to the Private Secretary’s office, one of Justice Mittal’s researchers intercepts me and hands over what feels like 300 pages worth of case law. I quickly learn that the morning (during which Justice Mittal deals with procedural matters) is when much of the court staff’s work gets done. It’s one of the few stretches of regularly-scheduled and uninterrupted court time they can count on.

10:35am Into Court. Before I can ask where I should park myself to get going on my assigned reading, I’m told that it might be a good idea to sit in Court to get a feel for morning proceedings. “Indian multitasking!” one of the law researchers tells me. I trundle back towards Court # 33, homework in tow, and spot this sign on my way:

Good thing I didn’t bring any chewing tobacco.

Though small, the courtroom is a beehive of activity. Lawyers buzz in when their case number flashes on the electronic docket, they offer a few pleading words to the sitting judges (usually to ask for a postponement), and buzz off just as quickly to tend to their next case. Litigants, police officers, and prisoners pack the three rows of seating behind the lecterns, waiting their turn. The prisoners are in street clothes, and none are in handcuffs—rather, each prisoner is accompanied by a bailiff, who holds the prisoner’s hand. When a prisoner walks into court in the morning, sits in court waiting for their hearing, goes to the bathroom, commisserates with a lawyer, and later leaves, the bailiff is there, holding the prisoner’s hand like an overbearing parent. THE WHOLE DAY. Meanwhile, lawyers, staff, and members of the public come and go from the court gallery, sitting beside convicted murderers and accused thieves without batting an eye. Can you imagine Toronto lawyers (or students) sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with death row inmates in court? But here, holding hands instead of handcuffs is as normal as traffic. “They’re human too,” someone tells me when I ask.

1:15pm Court Adjourns. Justice Mittal calls me to her Chambers. She asks about my first impressions, but before I can answer, the phone rings, and then ma’am is ushered to lunch.

In the coming days, I will sit in on parts of the four cases that Justice Mittal is now hearing (simultaneously!): an appeal relating to murder convictions in a well-publicized honour killing trial involving a political family; an interesting suo moto case that isn’t public yet; a pro bono appeal by three members of a poor family convicted of cutting a fourth relative out of her inheritance by burning her alive; and a federalism challenge being argued by two of the highest profile lawyers in the country.

More details on these, and other amazing events happening in India next time.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Delhi Hight Court | 1 Reply

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Background information on deep ties including financial ties between General Electric Company and Weil Gotshal & Manges

What’s strange and interesting about the Weil Gotshal cutback is that the firm enjoys marquee clients like General Electric and a legendary bankruptcy and restructuring practice, which has presided over the lucrative dismemberment of the Lehman Brothers estate, among many other assignments. Weil Gotshal is slashing overhead and punishing low-producing partners not because the firm is in the red. It’s taking these steps so that it can prop up its per-partner profits and remain competitive in American Lawyer’s AmLaw 100. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-24/more-trouble-in-big-law-weil-gotshal-and-patton-boggs

September 15, 2011 5:10 PM Weil Advises General Electric on $3.3 Billion Buffett Payback Posted by Brian Baxter At the height of the financial crisis, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway invested $3 billion in General Electric. Next month, the company plans to pay Berkshire back.  Buffett, Berkshire's chairman and CEO, made the GE investment a week after sinking $5 billion into Goldman Sachs in September 2008. (Goldman repaid the so-called Oracle of Omaha earlier this year.) GE is also giving Buffett and Berkshire a $300 million bonus, as well as additional dividends in connection with the investment, according to an SEC filing submitted Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that Buffett stands to reap $1.2 billion in profit from the deal all told. Weil, Gotshal & Manges M&A cochair Howard Chatzinoff is leading a legal team advising GE, a longtime client of the firm. Other Weil lawyers working on the matter include securities practice head David Lefkowitz, public company advisory head Ellen Odoner, global tax head Kenneth Heitner, and senior associate John Blevin. Weil represented GE's aviation unit earlier this year on its $1.3 billion joint venture with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The firm also handled the company's $520 million acquisition of Lineage Power in January, the $30 billion sale of its NBC Universal unit last year, and an $8 billion joint venture with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Development Company three years ago. Brackett Denniston III serves as GE's global general counsel, a position he has held since 2004. Former chief corporate, securities, and finance counsel Michael McAlevey—now vice president of legal operations for GE Aviation—and senior corporate, securities, and finance counsel Christoph Pereira are leading an in-house team advising on the Buffett payback. (Sibling publication Corporate Counsel profiled Fairfield, Conn.-based GE's massive in-house legal department in its May 2007 issue.) Sam Nunn, a former U.S. senator and retired King & Spalding partner, and W. Geoffrey Beattie, a former partner at top Canadian firm Torys, serve as members of GE's board. … Additional reporting by Tom Huddleston Jr. http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2011/09/weil-ge-buffett.html

Weil team was legal advisor on General Electric's $11.6 billion sale of GE Plastics to Saudi Basic Industries and General Electric's $35 billion joint venture with Comcast for ownership of NBC Universal Weil, Gotshal & Manges is an American international law firm, headquartered in New York City, New York. A limited-liability partnership, it employs 1,200 lawyers and has a gross annual revenue in excess of $1.1 billion.

Weil Advises GE in its Proposed $3.3 Billion Acquisition of Lufkin Industries (April 8, 2013, Weil News) A Weil team led by Corporate partners R. Jay Tabor and Danielle Do is advising longtime client General Electric in connection with its proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of Lufkin Industries Inc., a Texas-based publicly traded provider of artificial lift technologies for the oil and gas industry and a manufacturer of industrial gears, broadening GE Oil & Gas’ artificial lift capabilities and complementing GE’s existing product line. GE will pay Lufkin shareholders $88.50 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2013.

Weil Gotshal Advises General Electric in Multi-Billion Dollar Global Business Partnership with UAE's Mubadala (July 22, 2008, Weil Gotshal News) NEW YORK (July 22, 2008) – International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges advised General Electric Co. in an agreement providing for a groundbreaking global partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company. Building on nearly five years of prior collaboration, the new global partnership will provide for a broad range of business initiatives, including commercial finance, clean energy research and development, aviation, industry, and corporate learning. The agreement provides for shared capital commitments for projects such as new joint ventures and investment funds. Highlighted initiatives include the establishment of a jointly owned global commercial financial services business headquartered in Abu Dhabi, in which both GE and Mubadala will allocate $4 billion in equity over a three-year period. Targeted assets of the business exceed $40 billion.  Other initiatives include: ·                                 the establishment of a clean-energy technology center and 'ecomagination center' in Masdar City, the emirate’s new carbon-neutral, zero-waste city; ·                                 GE’s intention to invest up to $50 million in Masdar’s second Clean-Tech Fund and Mubadala’s intention to invest up to $200 million in a GE fund that focuses on healthcare, energy, and transportation; ·                                 the expansion of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies' (ADAT) maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities in order to support GE aircraft engines in service throughout the Middle East, and widen GE’s existing joint venture with ADAT to include field service and repair capability for the oil and gas industry throughout the United Arab Emirates; and ·                                 the creation of a new corporate learning center, managed by GE, to be established in Abu Dhabi and expected to launch in 2009. Significantly, Mubadala also plans over time to become a long-time General Electric shareholder, with an expectation that the Abu Dhabi-based investment agency will become one of GE's top ten institutional investors through open-market purchases of stock, as conditions allow. The arrangement boosts GE's already strong presence in the Middle East, which added $5 billion to GE's worldwide revenue in 2007, a 50% increase over the previous year. Abu Dhabi has evolved into an important hub in GE’s global sales and service network, and this arrangement will add to the company's deep resources in the region. Implementation of these arrangements is subject to negotiation of definitive documents and to regulatory approval.

Greg A. Danilow is a senior partner in the Securities Litigation practice and concentrates in securities, class action and derivative litigation as well as Board counseling. His practice includes litigation in contests for corporate control, and a broad spectrum of complex business, securities and corporate litigation, at the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Danilow also provides representation in regulatory proceedings and counseling in the fields of business, securities, corporate law and corporate governance. Current and Recent Litigation Representations ·                                 Representation of General Electric and its Senior Officers in class action in Connecticut. Coyne v. General Electric. Motion to dismiss granted. ·                                 Representation of General Electric Company and its senior officers in connection with securities class action litigation out of 2008 sale of equity. Motion to dismiss for failure to allege loss causation granted. ·                                 Representation of General Electric Company and its Board of Directors in connection with derivative litigation. Stein v. Immelt. Motion to dismiss for failure to make demand granted. ·                                 Representation of General Electric Company, its senior officers and directors in connection with class action securities litigation pending in the Southern District of New York relating to declaration of dividends and public offering.

Weil has also advised on a string of ­acquisitions for GE, including the $2.8bn ­purchase of UK-based John Wood’s well service division (alongside Allen & Overy as ­primary counsel to GE), its $520m acquisition of Lineage Power, and its $1.3bn offer for UK oil and transportation products provider Wellstream. http://www.thelawyer.com/weil-gotshal-and-manges/1008451.article

The leadership of Weil, a New York-based firm of 1,200 lawyers that counts General Electric and Sanofi as marquee clients and handled the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, informed its employees Monday morning about the reductions. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/big-law-firm-to-cut-lawyers-and-some-partner-pay/?_r=0

Weil's India practice mostly covers in-bound investment for both corporate and private equity clients, such as American Capital Strategies, General Electric and Baring Private Equity Asia and also out-bound investments by Indian corporations. Peter Feist, Marco Compagnoni, Joseph Kuzneski, Mike Francies and Paul Bromfield are the key partners in the India team. Deals In the past 12 months, the firm has advised on a range of private equity investments across various industries, with a strong focus in cable providers, health sector, and the securities sector. http://www.iflr1000.com/jurisdictionfirm/805/9/Weil-Gotshal--Manges.html