More Than Lawyers: Building a True Community
We are not just colleagues in the courtroom. We are building a space that fosters health, support, and shared responsibility beyond the bench.
This collage shows the brotherhood of volunteers that answered the call to help Kamirpura. DHCBA lawyers, led by me, joined Akaal Purkh ki Fauj. After a community prayer, we travelled to the village to assess the damage and begin the relief effort together.
The DHCBA Flood Relief Initiative in Kamirpura was about direct action. This powerful image shows volunteers wading through floodwaters to rescue livestock, a symbol of our commitment to helping the community rebuild their lives and livelihoods from the ground up.
This is what community in action looks like. When Kamirpura village was devastated by the Punjab floods, we, the Delhi High Court Bar Association, joined hands with Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj to provide hands-on help, not just funds. This image captures the moment we began our relief initiative, a testament to what we can achieve when we work together for a greater cause.
A strong bar is also a healthy and connected one. We introduced sports like Pickleball to bring fun, fitness, and friendship into our community beyond the courtroom. In this clip from the tournament's closing ceremony, I talk about promoting various sports and fostering a spirit of camaraderie among our members.
About this collection
When I ask our members to organize sports tournaments or lead relief efforts, I insist on self-sustainability. We do not rely on charity handouts. Instead, we source our own sponsors for events like pickleball and cricket, because there is dignity in building something with your own hands. That pride keeps us together.
As a lawyer with thirty years of practice, I have seen enough to know that the court is a high-pressure environment. It drains you. That is why creating a 'community' is not just a soft term for me. It is a necessary intervention. When we introduced pickleball, badminton, and cricket, the goal was simple: to get lawyers out of the stressful atmosphere of the courts and into a space where they can laugh, compete, and connect as human beings, not just as opposing counsels.
This philosophy extends to our social work. When the Punjab floods hit, we didn't just want to write a check. That would have been the easy way out. I believe in 'farz'. We went to Kamirpura, a village buried under four feet of silt. We worked alongside Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj to clear land, move debris, and help farmers save their livelihoods. It was grueling, dirty, and essential. Seeing senior advocates and juniors sweating together in the fields changed the dynamic back in the office. It broke down those invisible, rigid hierarchies that usually exist in our profession.
My door remains open to anyone who wants to contribute, whether through active participation in our social initiatives or by proposing new ways we can support each other. We are creating a culture where 'service' is not an occasional activity but a regular practice. If you are looking to be part of an association that values human connection as much as legal excellence, you are in the right place.
Narayanan Hariharan
I have spent over thirty years at the Delhi High Court, but my commitment to our community goes far beyond the courtroom. I believe in leading from the front, whether we are organizing a sports tournament or getting our hands dirty on the ground for flood relief. We are building a bar association that supports its members in every aspect of life.
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