Atul Setalvad is very much a lawyer’s lawyer. To attribute this only, or even chiefly, to his lineage in the law is merely mean-spirited; after all, many others who make such claims are far less accomplished. His ability to unravel a statute or dissect a judgment and lay it bare with the utmost simplicity, complete accuracy and terrifying speed is, arguably, second to none. His drafting is classical: succinct and precise with not a word out of place. Many who have appeared in suits for which he drafted the plaint attest to these skills, as do those traumatized by the task of drawing a written statement to one of his plaints.

It would be difficult, therefore, to find a lawyer better equipped to write an introduction to law. Butterworths/LexisNexis’ choice of Setalvad to write this book is both fortuitous and unerring.

With one major reservation which has nothing whatever to do with the author and everything to do with the publisher, the book is an exceptional primer on Indian law. The sheer range of areas covered is truly astounding. Starting with a general discussion on law, its meaning, sources, interpretation the book traverses the length and breadth of the law. Chapters include lawyers and legal practice; constitutional and administrative law; property; contract; torts; trusts; corporate and partnership law; personal law; insolvency; succession; crime; labour; tax and elections.

On a first reading, this seems altogether too ambitious. In the hands of a lesser author a project of this kind might be doomed before it even started. Setalvad pulls it off, and does so magnificently. Given the spectrum, there are, of necessity, omissions and exclusions, but these are judicious. Take, for instance, this passage on Administrative Law:

5.7.8. A difficult question relates to ‘official’ bias, meaning the mere fact that the authority taking a decision is administering government policy. This is extremely common. Such official bias does not constitute bias, but the action would be invalid if it can be shown that the authority concerned had made up his mind before the hearing. A distinction has been made in this connection between a secretary of a department which is administering the policy and is regarded as a part of the department, and a minister who is not a part of the department; the former cannot hear an appeal against a decision taken by the department while the latter can.

As a precise, cogent and succinct delineation of the law on the subject, this can hardly be bettered. Every topic is similarly analysed. For a change, and in stark contrast to other publications from the same imprint, this book has a genuine commentary on, and trenchant analyses of, the law. These expositions are referenced to case-law in footnotes, and there is a comprehensive table of cases as well.

Mr Setalvad writes superbly. Difficult topics are explained in simple language and, unsurprisingly, with complete clarity. But there is another pleasure too, increasingly rare in so many new works hastily put to publication: the proof-reading and editing. Barring one grisly instance — which I shan’t highlight here since Mr Setalvad himself pointed it out and also because the same proposition is correctly stated elsewhere — the book is entirely error-free, at least so far as I could tell. The credit for this, too, I believe goes to Mr Setalvad who did the proof-reading himself. This book should be prescribed reading for every law student.

What the book does highlight, sadly, is a vital lacuna in Indian law: the liability of a publisher to both the reader and the author. In other publications from the same publisher, many of us found the indexes to be pretty much useless. This time, Butterworths/LexisNexis have outdone themselves: they have eliminated the index altogether. If this is an attempt to improve the book, it is a spectacular failure — the book’s utility, especially to the student, is seriously compromised. How, for instance, is one to find the text relating to, say, fraud? Under pleadings? Contracts? Even the comprehensive table of contents doesn’t really help. The publishers must accept full responsibility for this disastrous omission, an error of judgement only accentuated by their impeccable choice of author.