Abhishek Manu Singhvi is a Supreme Court lawyer, spokesperson of the Congress, and a member of the Rajya Sabha. He is also an author, most recently of From the Trenches.

Singhvi sits down with lawyer Nandita Rao to talk about his new book, his legal and political work, and how he juggles the many hats he wears.

On the Tata Press vs MTNL case, where Singhvi argued that advertorial speech or commercial speech was also covered by the right to freedom of speech and expression, he recalls how he coloured the argument in such a way as to persuade the judge to rule in his favour.

On the menace of fake news, he says, “It is for you, the media, to be ruthless about it. You have plants, you have proxies, you have motivations. And once you stop doing yellow journalism, this is the best antidote.”

Talking about the Sabarimala temple case, in which he is arguing for the ban to remain on menstruating women entering the Kerala shrine, he claims that it isn’t a simple issue of gender discrimination, but much more nuanced.

He also talks about his love for animals, how this influenced his decision to fight the Jallikattu case, and juggling political and legal work opens him up to conflict of interest.

Watch.

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