Amit Desai Age, Wife, Family, Children, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Amit Desai

• Amit Desai is an Indian senior advocate at the High Court of Bombay, India.

• He was born into a family of lawyers; his grandfather and father both were lawyers.

• During his childhood, he used to be a shy boy.

• After completing his graduation, he wanted to do an MBA, but after talking to his parents, he decided to pursue law.

• After pursuing a degree in law, he worked with Indian senior lawyers such as Bhai Rege, Dilip Udeshi, and Ashok Modi.

• In 1982, advocate Amit Desai joined the Bar Council of India.

• He defended the then non-executive chairman of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) Keshub Mahindra in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Case 1984, and soon after, he became a famous name in the world of Indian advocates.

• In Bofors Imbroglio (the 1980s-1990s) and Securities, he represented and worked as the advisor of Harshad Mehta, Bhupen Dalal, and other convicts.

• In 2007, Amit Desai was designated as the senior advocate.

• During the tenure of the former Attorney General of India K Parasaran, from 2012 to 2018, Desai assisted him in the LIC versus Escorts case. During an interview, he shared his experience while working with K Parasaran. He said,
  

  Sitting in the last row behind numerous counsels, solicitors and client representatives, I watched Mr. Parasaran in action. The proposition of laws on commercial laws, corporate laws, foreign exchange laws, administrative laws, constitutional principles etc. kept leaping out of this intellectual giant, which meant 2-4 sleepless nights in a row for all of us.”

• In 2014, he represented the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala in the income tax case.

• He was appointed as an advocate in the businessman Vijay Mallya‘s money laundering case in 2018. While talking to the reporters, Amit Desai said,
  

  He (Vijay Mallya) left the country even before the warrant against him was issued. He did not leave the country to avoid criminal prosecution. He has the fundamental right to leave the country by the right of movement under the Constitution.”

• In 2015, he was appointed as the advocate of the company Nestle India in the Maggie noodles ban case in India.

• He came into the limelight in 2015 when he was appointed by the famous Indian actor Salman Khan in the 2002 hit and run case. At that time, Salman Khan was sentenced to five years imprisonment, but when Desai represented Salman in the court in May 2015, Salman was granted bail with a fine of Rs. 30,000.

• His major practice areas are:

1. White-collar crime
2. Banking and Commercial Fraud
3. Economic and regulatory offences
4. Corruption and Anti-Bribery Matters
5. Extradition
6. Capital Markets
7. Company Law
8. Taxation and Currency Regulation cases
9. Negligence cases (Medical, Industrial and Road)

• He has worked as a special counsel and special public prosecutor of Maharashtra. He has appeared in trial courts and represented Indian, multinational & foreign corporates, PE investors, and business houses.

• He has been invited as a speaker at various events including FEMA by the Direct Taxes Regional Training Institute, International Bar Association, and Anti Corruption Compliance Sessions at ‘The Indian Story in Global Mergers and Acquisitions.’

• In 2021, when the Indian advocate Satish Maneshinde failed to get Aryan Khan bail in the drug case, Aryan’s father, Shah Rukh Khan, hired Desai to look after the case. While talking to the reporters, Desai said,
  

  We are completely relying on the court. Justice shall prevail. There were no drugs found with Aryan Khan. NCB is trying to defend his bail pleas. So we may hear the plea tomorrow. My client’s liberty is at stake now.”

• As per the sources, while defending Aryan Khan in the court, Amit Desai said,
  

  The man is already inside the prison for a week. Bail hearing does not have to depend on investigation. I am not arguing bail, I am only arguing for a date.”

• In his leisure time, Desai loves to read books and spend time with his family and friends. During an interview, while talking about reading books, he said,
  

  My pick on books has a wide range. When I am stressed, I read Jeffrey Archer, a couple of years ago, I was reading Digital Age written by Eric Schmidt, where he sees the world with digitisation and the impact of digitisation across countries and what it means for governments.”

  He further added,

  I generally prefer reading books on any subject, as long as the style of writing is good. It could be about important people, their lives and also books on innovations and their impact on society. Though books on historical events are more preferable to books on management. Also, on a relatability basis, I prefer books on legal history and books written by people from the legal community.”