Harish Salve set to represent Vinesh Phogat's Olympics disqualification case; fought cases for Tata, Salman Khan

Harish Salve, one of the India's top lawyers, is set to represent wrestler Vinesh Phogat's Paris Olympics disqualification case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

This comes after Vinesh Phogat knocked on the doors of the CAS against her disqualification from the final of women's 50 kg wrestling at Paris Olympics on being found overweight by 100 grams. She also demanded that a joint silver medal be awarded to her for her stellar performance at the marquee event. 

Earlier in the day, the CAS promulgated that the decision on awarding the former Indian wrestler a silver medal following her disqualification would be taken before the end of the ongoing marquee event. 

Who is Harish Salve?

Born on June 22, 1955, Harish Salve is one of the most prominent lawyers in India. He attended St. Francis De'Sales High School in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He received the degree of LLB from Nagpur University and his Chartered Accountancy from the ICAI. He went to school with Sharad Arvind Bobde, a former chief justice of India.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Salve worked as a Chartered Accountant in taxation. In 1980, he joined JB Dadachandji & Co. as an intern, kicking off his legal profession. 

A look at Salve's past wins 

1. Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Harish representated Kulbhushan Jadhav in the International Court's (ICJ). He had accepted a fee of just Rs 1 to represent Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by Pakistan for espionage. Through his arguments, Salve succeded in defeating the Pakistan government in the case. 

2. Tata sons vs Cyrus Mistry: Harish Salve represented Tata Sons in the Supreme Court in the year 2016. Through his deft arguments and incredible legal strategies, he won the case as the top court upheld the Tata Group's decision to remove Cyrus Mistry as executive chairperson of Tata Sons.

3. Salman Khan hit-and-run case: In 2015, Harish Salve took up one of the most-talked about cases, that is Salman Khan's hit-and-run case of 2002. The actor was earlier sentenced to five years in jail. However, the Bombay High Court, in 2015, acquitted him of all charges in the case. 

4. Ram Mandir dispute case: Another case which went on for generations. The Ram Janmabhoomi dispute is considered one of the oldest cases of the country. Harish Salve represented the Hindu side and 2019 saw the Supreme Court passing verdict in the case, and paving the way for Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya. 

Earlier, in a big jolt to India, Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics for being found overweight ahead of her women's 50kg final here.

The 29-year-old had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in the event on Tuesday night. She was set to fight with United States' Sarah Ann Hildebrandt for the gold medal. 

Later, Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling through a heartfelt post on social media. 

माँ कुश्ती मेरे से जीत गई मैं हार गई माफ़ करना आपका सपना मेरी हिम्मत सब टूट चुके इससे ज़्यादा ताक़त नहीं रही अब।

अलविदा कुश्ती 2001-2024 

आप सबकी हमेशा ऋणी रहूँगी माफी 

— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 7, 2024

"Maa kushti (wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage have been broken. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to you all for forgiveness", she had written in a post on 'X'.