Khambata’s elevation

The Government of India has appointed senior counsel Darius J. Khambata additional solicitor general for the Bombay High Court. Kham­bata is one of the 12 additional solicitors general appointed — seven for the Supreme Court and five for High Courts — to assist attorney general Goolam E. Vahan­vati and solicitor general Gopal Sub­ra­maniam. These were cleared by the cabinet committee on appointments late on the night of July 4 after an "unusually complicated process” of selection, to help deal with the enormous backlog of pending cases listed for hearing, reported The Times of India on July 6, 2009.

While congratulating him on his appointment, the website of the Bombay Bar Association noted that "Khambata has a formidable reputation for the most painstaking preparation of his matters. His new clients will have their work cut out for them. Will Mr Khambata successfully navigate the treacherous shoals of the Union of India’s law department, where so many who went before floundered? We believe so, and trust that this is but a first step to much greater things.”

Darius Khambata: formidable reputation

Khambata, who spoke to Parsiana over the telephone, is a veteran of many commercial arbitrations, including international ones. He was one of the lawyers who represented the State of Maharashtra against Enron in the Dhabol matter. "Though I have many large corporate clients like banks, I balance that by doing a lot of public interest litigation work as well,” he elaborated. He has also practiced constitutional law to challenge the validity of statutes such as the Bombay Stamps Act and Public Trust Act.

"(Khambata) spearheaded the Maha-bleshwar-Panchgani environmental issue,” wrote Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly in its edition of July 12, 2009. A postgraduate of the Law faculty of Harvard University, Khambata is married to Kerman and they have two children, Leah, 16 and Jehangir, who is nine years old, Jamé reveals.

Among his other interests, the newly appointed additional solicitor general is "passionately fond of Western classical music,” he told Parsiana.