Salman Khan's 'guardian angel' Harish Salve: All you need to know

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Harish Salve turned out to be a 'guardian angel' for a distressed Bollywood actor Salman Khan and saved the actor from spending nights in the jail.

Salve appeared in the Bombay High Court and argued for the actor after a Mumbai Sessions court sentenced him 5 years of rigorous imprisonment in the 2002 hit-and-run case. The senior lawyer got the interim bail for Salman within 10 minutes.

This has certainly made Salve a top choice for corporate houses, celebrities and even politicians.

Here is all you need to know about Harish Salve, who emerged as a 'real life super hero' for the 'reel life hero':

Former Solicitor General of India

• 56-year-old Salve served as the Solicitor General of India from November, 1999 to November, 2002. He declined to be nominated for a 2nd term due to 'personal reasons'.

• He started his legal career in 1980 as an intern at JB Dadachandji & Co initially as an intern and later became a full-time lawyer.

• He has also worked with Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee between 1980 and 1986.

• Salve was admitted to the English Bar in 2013 and subsequently joined the Blackstone Chambers.

Family:

• His father NKP Salve was a prominent politician and member of the Congress party and mother, Ambriti Salve, was a doctor.

• His grandfather, PK Salve, was a successful criminal lawyer.

Cases and clients:

• Salve was appointed Amicus Curiae by the SC in cases mostly relating to the preservation of the environment.

• Salve has represented several large corporate houses and government of India on several ocassions.

• He represents industrialist Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited in big ticket cases like the Krishna Godavari Basin gas dispute case.

• His other noteworthy clients include the Tata Group and ITC Limited.

• He even appeared for Ratan Tata himself in a privacy petition concerning the Niira Radia tapes.

• Salve represented Vodafone in its $2.5 billion tax evasion case with the Indian government. He initially lost the case in the Bombay High Court, but later won it at the Supreme Court.

• He also represented the Delhi Police for its midnight raid over Baba Ramdev's rally at Ramlila Maidan.

Fee:

• It is being said that Salve charges Rs 30 lakh for a day.

• There were rumours that Mukesh Ambani had spent Rs 15 crore on lawyers in the Krishna Godavari Basin gas dispute case.

Controversy:

• He invited controversy after his resigned as Solicitor General of India citing personal reasons.

• It is being said that he resigned following differences with the then UPA government over Best Bakery case during Gujarat riots.

• He recused himself from Amicus Curiae during a hearing on illegal mining case, on the grounds that he had previously appeared for one or more of the parties.