After his arrest, whenever he was acquitted, cops would arrest him on another set of charges
One may take Arun Ferreira to be just another of the hundreds of other lawyers who joined the fraternity a month ago, but what sets him apart is that he chose to become an advocate only after going through police torture when he was arrested in 2007 and was slapped with nine different cases.
42-year-old Arun did not have any plans of taking up the black coat until he was arrested in 2007 for being an alleged Naxalite. After his arrest, whenever he was acquitted by the court and ordered to be released, the police on another set of charges, including Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), arrested him. Fed up with these cases Arun had also filed a petition in the Nagpur high court seeking compensation. But it was during his imprisonment that he realised that knowing the law is the best way to fight for justice and hence he worked towards receiving a degree in law and got his Sanad from the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in December last year.
“I have just started out as a lawyer and have appeared in court as a lawyer very few times so I am learning things as of now,” said Arun when asked about his experience in courts as an advocate. However, he also said that there are a lot of problems in our judicial system and he has also written a book on it.
“The judicial system is very insensitive towards a person,” said Arun, adding that there is substantial difference between a common person and a person like him studying and practising law as he has gone through variable experience in custody which helps in better understanding the Acts and how the procedures work. According to Arun, the bad experience that that he went through has given him a purpose — of getting justice for the poor, the innocent — to become a lawyer.
Reacting on lawyers receiving threats for appearing in controversial matters, Arun said that the practice is wrong and every accused, even if he has committed a crime, has a right to defend himself and a lawyer is required to represent him and hence lawyers should not be targeted. He also said that a lawyer can personally choose not to defend any accused but any Bar Association or lawyers’ body should not stop lawyers from appearing in any case.
Speaking about his book Colours Of The Cage, Arun said that it has received positive response from all quarters and such acceptance was beyond his expectations. It has not only gone for additional printing but was also shortlisted for the Crossword Non-Fiction prize of 2014.
