History was created in the Supreme Court two weeks ago during a hearing by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. The advocate who was presenting the case online was Sarah Sunny hailing from Kerala and what made the situation unique was the presence of another advocate allowed by the Chief Justice to interpret the arguments of Sarah, who is hearing impaired.
Sarah is India’s first hearing-impaired lawyer. She belongs to Kottayam and the house of her father, chartered accountant Sunny Kuruvila, is near CMS College in the town. Sarah is currently based at Koramangala in Bengaluru.
In a way, Sarah has been arguing cases all her life and winning them. She was born as one of the twin daughters of Sunny and his wife Betty, eight years after their firstborn son Prateek. Even though Sunny and Betty realised that Sarah and her twin sister Mariah could not hear, they were not depressed. Prateek too had the same condition but was leading a normal life. Sunny and Betty resolved that the mission in their lives would be to support the twins to live like other children.
Betty left her job as a teacher and started training the twins to dance. They soon surprised everyone with matching steps and timing. Sarah and Mariah also won prizes in painting, badminton and crafts work.
Sarah did not attend special schools for the hearing impaired. Instead, she studied at regular school and college till her BCom.
Since childhood, Sarah loved asking questions. She kept on raising queries until she was fully satisfied with the answer. In other words, she naturally acquired the skill of cross-examining people.
When the BCom results were published, Sarah had the highest marks in the legal subjects. “I want to become a lawyer,” she said and her parents approved.
However, gaining admission to a law college was difficult. At that time, a new institute, St Joseph’s Institution Law College, opened near Sunny’s office and Sarah joined the first batch there. At the law college, Sarah also attended regular classes, and her persistent efforts led her to the Supreme Court.
Sarah speaks on her remarkable journey so far
“Many people wondered how a hearing-impaired girl could attend ‘normal’ school. But my elder brother Prateek had shown the way. Prateek’s experience also gave confidence to the teachers. When I joined the law college, I could point out my studies in regular school,” says Sarah.
Still, finding employment was a challenge. “Everywhere I went, they said there was no vacancy. But Tiruvenkidam, a senior advocate in Bengaluru, helped me. Initially, I was given office work. Later, I received the opportunity to visit the court and raise submissions. Even then, arguing in court was a dream. One day, a senior advocate introduced me to a judge. With the judge’s encouragement, I started making arguments in court. However, it was not as easy as I had imagined,” says Sarah.
“Sometimes, I had to write what I had to say on paper and show it. On such an occasion, I had the idea to utilise the services of an interpreter. Now that the Supreme Court has also approved this arrangement, my confidence has received a boost,” she says.
In her future plans, Sarah says that she would like to learn more about law. “I also wish to prove my abilities in the court. Creating better conditions for the hearing impaired in courts such as the services of interpreters is another goal,” she adds.
Sarah also reveals that her favourite topics are human rights issues and laws related to differently-abled people.
When asked what advice she would be giving to youngsters, Sarah says, “Remain optimistic always. Believe in your abilities and make your own decisions in life. Strive to realize your goals with the blessings of your parents.”