Fali NarimanDeath: Senior jurist Fali S Nariman passed away today. he was 95 years old
New Delhi:
Eminent jurist and senior Supreme Court lawyer Fali S Nariman passed away today. He was 95 years old. The senior lawyer was suffering from several ailments, including heart-related problems. In his career spanning seven decades, Shri Nariman has been part of many major legal cases, many of which dealt with important constitutional questions.
Some facts about Fali S Nariman:
- Born in Rangoon in 1929, he completed his schooling from the prestigious Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and then completed his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He obtained his law degree from Government Law College, Mumbai.
- In an interview with Bar and Bench, Mr Nariman had said that “law was the last option for me”. “My father wanted me to take the Indian Civil Services examination, but I knew he couldn’t do it. I had got a second division in my BA degree and had no other option except law, because I wanted science. There was no understanding or mathematics,” he said.
- He started his legal career in 1950, practicing in the Bombay High Court as an advocate. His exceptional expertise earned him the designation of Senior Counsel in 1961. He moved to the Supreme Court as a senior lawyer in 1971, a post he retained till the end. He served as Additional Solicitor General of India from 1972 to 1975, when he stepped down to protest the emergency imposed by the then Indira Gandhi government.
- The important case he was a part of was the legal battle following the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, which killed at least 3,800 people and affected millions. Mr Nariman appeared on behalf of Union Carbide, which ran the facility. Much later, in an interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN, he expressed regret over his decision. “I mean, one is always ambitious at that age. But I found out later, but by then it was too late. One cannot walk out of a case one has already taken up… This That was not the case; it was a tragedy.”
- Another major case he was a part of was challenging the constitutional amendment to set up a National Judicial Appointments Commission to replace the collegium system for appointing judges. Arguing against the new system, the jurist had said that the proposed commission would be a “complete anathema to judicial independence”.
- For his contributions to jurisprudence, he was honored with several international awards, including the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan and the Gruber Award for Justice. He was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha between 1999 and 2005 and served on several legal panels.
Mr Nariman is survived by his son, retired Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman, daughter Anahita and daughter-in-law Sanaya. His wife Bapsi Nariman died in 2020.
