Kamini Lau, who upheld the right to protest, is a no-nonsense judge

Lawyers say she is a strict judge whose work culture is different in terms of clarity on the status of pending matters or state of evidence

The courtroom of additional sessions judge Kamini Lau at Tis Hazari wears the look of a typical official space as a crowd waits patiently for the final order on the bail application of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad. Clerks record testimonies of people in other cases, while a few policemen, lawyers and journalists chat among themselves.

A day earlier, on January 14, judge Lau’s dressing-down of the Delhi Police and assertion of the jailed leader's constitutional right to protest peacefully created a frisson of excitement among those who have been raising their voices against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

As the bespectacled