Aparna Bhatt is living her passion. The feisty Supreme Court advocate has been fighting for human rights ever since she completed her law degree from Bengaluru in 1992.
It was on Bhatt’s petition that the Supreme Court banned over-the-counter sale of acid and took measures for providing compensation and rehabilitation to the acid attack survivors.
Recalling the time spent with Laxmi, one such brave survivor, Bhatt says, “I was moved to see her strength. Even after going through such a difficult time, she remained cheerful and positive.”
Bhatt says she chose this profession to help out those in need.
“I wanted to fight for those who do not have access to things and not for those for whom life is a cakewalk,” she says, sharing why she chose to become a lawyer.
Interestingly, Bhatt is the first lawyer in her family. Her father was a scientist and her husband is a businessman. The activist-lawyer is also mother to a two-and-a-half-year-old boy.
Bhatt says she shares a deep bond with the city of Delhi, which has made her more mature while she practiced law.
“This city has taught me everything. Delhi is full of life. Every day brings a new challenge for me. The work style here and the things that happen in the city have made me a much stronger person than what I used to be while living in Bengaluru,” she believes.
In the early years, after the rape crisis cells were set up by the Delhi government in 2005, Bhatt was among the three female lawyers appointed to represent the city’s rape victims that sometimes included children and even babies.
Bhatt recounts how certain cases of sexual violence that she took up at the cell left a deep impression on her. “I always feel physical support and counselling are more important for the rape or sexual assault victim rather than anything else.”