Singhvi's long and inf luential journey in telecom litigation began when he was 34 and became the youngest lawyer to be designated senior counsel when he took on his first telecom case in 1993-94. The Delhi Science forum had challenged privatisation of mobile telephony and Singhvi represented what later came to be known as the GSM lobby. Things have changed since, but for the worse. "How can business work in such an environment," asks Singhvi, referring to the current state of telecom regulation. "It is terrible for business, and it isn't even good for lawyers to be busy with issues that everyone seems to agree are absurd." 

The current regulatory environment has also made the industry more divided, observes Singhvi. Earlier, the GSM lobby stood together through COAI. But Bharti, Idea and Vodafone have each made separate filings in the latest cases on ICR and license renewal. "They say that the current argument is identical, but what if they wish to take a separate stance from competitors later during the trials," he explains. Despite being so closely involved with the sector, Singhvi considers himself an outsider. "We are not sector specialists. Our job is to take the essence of what is being said and turn it into a common man argument before the Court," he says. He self-admittedly doesn't necessarily understand how the sector or technology works. 

No stranger to controversy 

Companies do spend hundreds of crores on legal expenses. Safe to say Singhvi gets more than his proportionate share. "His fees sometimes border on extortion, but the results of his cases are seldom undesired," says a junior lawyer asking not to be named. 

Last year, Singhvi paid additional income tax of Rs 3.26 crore on what he terms an accounting error that led to unrecorded income of Rs 11 crore in 2010-11. The tax department had said the unrecorded amount was close to Rs 22.86 crore, but Singhvi has denied this. 

Singhvi also says he has foregone many cases which he deemed were conflicting with his political role. But even within the Congress, Singhvi says there are elements that are capable of undercutting someone seen as successful. He attributes the controversial sex scandal he was implicated in during Feb-April 2012 to such an act. His former driver apparently shot him having sex with a woman in exchange for helping her professionally and circulated the video. In an out of court settlement, the driver later confessed to digitally altering the video and spreading it out of vengefulness. "In that, I saw the most base places people can fall to. But in hind sight it also was a time I identified my true friends and well-wishers," Singhvi says. 

Singhvi's rise both in the legal profession and in politics has self-admittedly come at the cost of family life. "With age advancing, I am aware I have to focus more on health. My future daughter-in-law has already started control ling that," he says.

1997: Levy on mobile firms for calls to landline, which led to TRAI being set up 

2001: Migration of wireless in local loop (mobile landline on CDMA technology) to mobile services 

2005: Definition of 'adjusted gross revenues', on which firms pay government 

2007: Allowing CDMA players to offer GSM services also 

2008: Vodafone tax case (empanelled but did not argue) 

2010-12: Defending Aircel and Vodafone in 2G scam and licence cancellations Abolition of mobile termination charge 

2012: GSM lobby's case against onetime spectrum usage charge amounting to `30,000 cr Ban on 3G roaming pacts between companies Right to licence renewal 

2014: Allowing government auditor to look into telecom company books