Maamla Legal Hai – Episode 1 “Egregious” Recap & Review

Egregious

Episode 1 of Maamla Legal Hai starts with a narration of stories based on the real events that take place in Patparganj District Court in Delhi. The episode opens with the peons bringing a witness box from one courtroom to the other due to the shortage of resources. The case is in session where the victim is being interrogated by the prosecutor.

The victim claims that 5 men beat him up and stole from him. Defense Attorney – Advocate VD Tyagi shows up in the courtroom and uses his wit to turn the case over. Tyagi claims that since it was 5 men who attacked the victim, the case that was filed is baseless. He states that the police must file a dacoit case against the five as “robbery” did not apply.

The judge rules in favour of Tyagi’s argument and the 5 goons are released, even if it was for a day. Meanwhile, Ananya Shroff, a newly graduated lawyer from Harvard visits the Patparganj Court to start her practice. She is on her way to the admin office and notices the conditions of the lawyers there.

With advocates setting up a table in any place they can find, the court is full of lawyers. Ananya meets the court admin – Vishwas Pandey and learns that setting up an office of her own in the court is next to impossible. Vishwas tells Ananya that if she needed her own chamber, she would have to pay a hefty fee to the court. He also adds that a chamber would eventually be given to her but it would be only based on merit or seniority.

Ananya is dejected and agrees to have Vishwas set up a table for her outside the court just like the hundreds of other lawyers she ran into on her way in. Outside, Advocate Sujata Negi meets a client trying to file for divorce. The client claims that he was upset because his bride wasn’t shy on the wedding night. Sujata takes the case to a different lawyer, making a small commission out of the referral.

On the other hand, Advocate VD Tyagi is filling out the nomination form for the upcoming Patparganj Bar Association elections wherein he aims to become a president of the Bar. Tyagi tells his assistant – Mintu that his final goal was not to become a judge but an Attorney General.

Tyagi tells Mintu that he was going to get a recommendation from famous Supreme Court advocate – J. B. Wadia to participate in the elections that can make him the President of the Bar Association.

At the same time, Sujata meets a senior advocate in the canteen and asks him to help her get a chamber, considering how she is a senior lawyer. She tells Advocate Munshi how she was tired of being paid petty fees while lawyers with chambers were earning lakhs of rupees for every case.

Tyagi shows up at a reputable hotel to meet Advocated Wadia but realises how the man speaks fluent English with complicated words like preposterous, outrageous and egregious. At Patparganj Court, Vishwas gets Ananya a desk outside the court just like other lawyers, including Sujata. Vishwas sets up Ananya’s desk right next to Sujata’s.

During their first interaction, Ananya has an argument with Sujata over the practice of illegally recommending cases to lawyers with chambers for a commission. Sujata gets upset and refuses to let Ananya sit beside her. Ananya is forced to set up a table for herself in the parking lot where she does not get any clients.

On the other hand, Tyagi decides that he would write an article about one of the cases Wadia had recently lost to win him over. He has his assistants write the article for him but their English writing skills fail to impress him.

Just then, Ananya barges into Tyagi’s office, asking him to help her out. Ananya’s fluency in English impresses her and he asks her to write an article on the case that Wadia had recently lost.

In exchange, he offers to help Ananya get a desk in the foyer of the court. The article impresses Tyagi but Sujata expresses her hurt over the fact that Tyagi had let Ananya get a desk in the foyer. Tyagi promises to give Sujata her chamber when he wins the upcoming President of the Bar Association elections.

At the foyer, Ananya is shocked to learn that Tyagi had published the article she had written as his own and published it in the newspaper. She is upset and barges into Tyagi’s office calling him out.

Tyagi claims that she was given a table in the foyer in exchange for the article as the court only gave tables to lawyers based on seniority or merit, both of which she did not have. She decides to give up the desk and starts trying to get clients by standing outside the court like other rookie lawyers.

Meanwhile, Tyagi manages to impress Wadia at a party by discussing the article Ananya had written for him. He gets Wadia’s letter of approval that would allow him to stand in the upcoming elections.

The next day, Sujata stands up for Ananya in front of the other rookie lawyers. Ananya realises that the Patparganj court worked based on connections and connections only. She decides to team up with Sujata.

The episode ends with Tyagi learning that he would be competing with his arch nemesis – Advocate Phorey in the upcoming Bar Association elections.

The Episode Review

This one is refreshing as it seems to present real-life cases that are registered in small-town courts with a touch of fiction. The writing of this show is great and that can be seen from the first episode itself.

We see Ananya, a Harvard graduate trying to make it on her own as an advocate while other lawyers like Sujata try to bring her down for messing with the system they have grown accustomed to for many years.

In the real world, things that Tyagi does may seem absurd, but Indians understand the term “jugaad” (makeshift) and Tyagi as well as the others nothing but a jugaadu people who are trying to win cases and call it a day without worrying about the consequences of their actions.

The episode foreshadows a clash between Phorey and Tyagi, something that seems like an old rivalry and I cannot wait to see what it leads to in the future.