The Puncture Repair Test
“When on a drive, be prepared and skilled enough to mend the flat tyres as well.” I find myself saying very often while briefing particularly the young graduates as well interns at our firm before various miscellaneous court appearances. But recently when I got those flat tyres while returning late night on one of the worst rainy days in Delhi, I found myself desperately looking for the road-side assistance numbers, and when they did not arrive for almost a long 40 minutes wait and it was past 10 pm, without waiting further, I went to look for the puncture man and the only one whom I found was fully drunk and his needle was broken too. He had obviously called it a day. I reached home past midnight. I was happy.
“When on a drive, be prepared and skilled enough to mend the flat tyres as well.” I still advocate this to my juniors and colleagues with more conviction plus something else that I have decided in my mind. That I will take the puncture test myself as we do in courts.
Appearing before any court is all about being quick while on your feet and that astuteness comes with depth of knowledge of the facts of the case as well as relevant law and being fully prepared with the file. So far so good. Every lawyer half the worth of his client’s money gets himself prepared for the best results but might not foresee a situation which can be compared to a punctured tyre while on a race. Such break downs can be fatal for the case. It is not equivalent to a worst-case scenario and so many argue that it is not something that can perhaps be prepared for and needs to be attended as and when such situation arises. Perhaps true, but I beg to differ most respectfully on a different connotation of ‘being prepared’. It is about being prepared for all foreseeable circumstances to the extent possible and that preparedness is also a preparedness for the unforeseeable since everything else is rehearsed so it is easier to then focus on the puncture. Further the more we deal with “the puncture” the better equipped we are to deal with such situations. The “go to” person for punctures is the man who deals with it as a matter of routine. If we don’t deal with it and look for help, then we are not prepared enough to deal with it the next time as well.
Last Sunday morning just as I was about to go to the market, I saw the flat tyres. Instead of calling the on-road assistance, I decided to do it myself. It took me some time since I don’t remember doing that over last decade or thereabout. But I am sure that next time I get a flat tyre on a rainy evening, I will not helplessly wait for road-side assistance.
Sougat Sinha Adv.