Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (14 September 1923 – 8 September 2019) was an Indian lawyer and politician. He served as India's Minister of Law and Justice, as chairman of the Bar Council of India, and as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Jethmalani obtained his LL.B degree at the age of 17 and started practising law in his hometown, Shikarpur, until the Partition of India. The partition led him to move to Mumbai as a refugee where he began his life and career afresh. He announced his retirement from judicial profession in 2017.1
Jethmalani was awarded the Human Rights Award by World Peace Through Law in 1977. He authored books such as Big Egos, Small Men; Conscience of a Maverick; and Maverick: Unchanged, Unrepentant; among others. He also co-authored legal scholarly books on different fields of law.
Personal life
Jethmalani was born on 14 September 1923 in Shikarpur, Sindh in the Sindh division of the then (today a part of ) to Boolchand Gurmukhdas Jethmalani and Parbati Boolchand. He got a double promotion in school and completed matriculation at the age of 13. At the age of 17 he secured an degree from the with a first class distinction. At that time, the minimum age for becoming a lawyer was 21, but a special exception (resulting from an application that he made to the court contesting the rule regarding minimum age) allowed him to become a lawyer at the age of 18. He received his from Bombay University, since did not have a university of its own at that time.
This page is based on “Ram Jethmalani” from English Wikipedia, (r1378217078) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
Jethmalani married his first wife, Durga, in a traditional Indian arranged marriage, around the age of 18. In 1947, just before the Partition of India, he married his second wife, Ratna Shahani, a lawyer by profession. His family includes both of his wives and four children – three by Durga (Rani, Shobha, Mahesh) and one by Ratna (Janak).46 Among his two sons and two daughters, Mahesh and Rani have been supreme court lawyers while Mahesh is also a BJP leader, and Rani a social activist.7Kamna Jethmalani, an actress in Telugu and Tamil films is related to him. She is the granddaughter of one of his brothers.89
Jethmalani died on 8 September 2019 in New Delhi at his home at the age of 95.2 According to his son Mahesh Jethmalani, he had been unwell for the last few months of his life, and died at 7:45 am (IST), six days short of his 96th birthday.1011
Career
Legal career
Ram Jethmalani started his career as a lawyer and Professor in Sindh before partition.12 He started his own law firm in Karachi with his friend A. K. Brohi who was senior to him by seven years.4 In February 1948, when riots broke out in Karachi, he fled to India on the advice of his friend Brohi and when he came to India in that day he had only INR 10 in his pocket and with that note he stayed in the refugee camp for few days.12
Jethmalani fought his first case at the age of 17 in the Sindh High Court under Justice Godfrey Davis, contesting the rule regarding minimum age passed by the Bar Council of Sindh. In a talk at Algebra in June 2017, Jethmalani recounted his first case fought in India as a refugee. The newly introduced Bombay Refugees Act treated refugees in an inhumane manner, against which Jethmalani filed a case in the Bombay High Court, praying for the law to be declared unconstitutional, a case he won.13
Jethmalani later came to be noted for his appearance in the Nanavati case in 1959 with Y. V. Chandrachud, who was later to become the Chief Justice of India. His defence of a string of smugglers in the late 1960s established his image as a "smuggler's lawyer", to which he mentioned that he was only doing his duty as a lawyer.1415
On 9 September 2017, he announced his retirement from the legal profession.41
Political career
Jethmalani's experience during the partition as a refugee led him to advocate for better relations between India and Pakistan, which he sought throughout his political career.42 He contested as an independent candidate from Ulhasnagar supported both by the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Jana Sangh but he lost the elections.4 During the emergency period of 1975–1977, he was the chairman of the Bar Association of India. He heavily criticised then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. An arrest warrant was issued against him from Kerala which was stayed by the Bombay high court when over three hundred lawyers, led by Nani Palkhivala, appeared for him. However, the stay was nullified by the habeas corpus judgement in Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla.43 Jethmalani exiled himself in Canada carrying on his campaign against the emergency. He returned to India ten months later after the emergency was lifted. While in Canada, his candidature for the Parliament was filed from the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency. He won the election and retained the seat in 1980 general elections, but lost to Sunil Dutt in 1985. In the 1977 general elections after the emergency, he won against then serving Union law minister H. R. Gokhale from Bombay in the Lok Sabha elections, and hence started his political career as a parliamentarian.4 However he was not made law minister himself as Morarji Desai disapproved of his lifestyle.44
He had also announced his candidature for President of India stating: "I owe it to the nation to offer my services". He launched his own political fronts, the Bharat Mukti Morcha, as a "mass movement" in 1987. In 1995, he launched his own political party called the Pavitra Hindustan Kazhagam, with the motto to achieve "transparency in functioning of Indian democracy".44
In the 2004 Indian general election, he contested against Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate. The Indian National Congress did not field their candidates in this election; however, he lost. Later on, in 2010, he was given a Rajya Sabha ticket by Bharatiya Janata Party from Rajasthan and he was elected. He was also a member of the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.5 Jethmalani has been criticised as being "opportunistic" as a result of this.46 Jethmalani was noted for speaking his mind;47 at a reception hosted by the Pakistan High Commission for the Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar who was on a visit to India on 28 July 2011, Jethmalani in the presence of the Chinese ambassador called China an enemy of both India and Pakistan and warned the Indians and Pakistanis to beware of the Chinese.48
In 2012, Jethmalani wrote to then Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari, accusing opposition BJP leaders of being "silent against the huge corruption" within the ruling UPA-II government, and stated that BJP "is sick".50 Jethmalani's letter51 became public on the internet. The same year, in November, Jethmalani stated "When there are serious allegations against Gadkari, he should have stayed away, if only to raise his stature in the public eye".6 He also said "I am sure the RSS is trying to influence the functioning of the BJP. After all, BJP leaders have grown up with the RSS".6
In May 2013, BJP expelled Jethmalani from the party for six years, for having made anti-party statements.52 In October 2013, defamation charges were framed against BJP seeking ₹50 lakh (US$52,000) as "null and void and damages" for making a statement that he was not a fit person to be member of the party.5351
Later life
Jethmalani stepped into the role of an elder statesman, but took action on occasion, as he was also India's oldest practising lawyer.54 In 2017, he wrote an open letter to Justice C. S. Karnan, of the Calcutta High Court, who was embroiled in controversy:55
As a senior member of the Bar and living in the departure lounge of God’s airport I am advising you to withdraw every word that you have uttered and humbly pray for pardon for every stupid action you have so far indulged in, I am sorry to tell you that I am convinced you have lost your mind. Your behaviour is that of a lunatic and someday that may be the only defence available to you do with no bright chance of success.56
Karnan retired shortly thereafter.
Jethmalani died in 2019. Many former colleagues wrote remembrances of him.5758
Actor Sumeet Vyas portrays Ram Jethmalani in Hindi webseries The Verdict based on real life incident that is Nanavati case available on OTT platform Zee5 and in association with Ekta Kapoor's Alt Balaji.
S M, Shashiprasad (20 May 2015). "Kamna Jethmalani in Kathak mode". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 7 July 2024. Kamna says, "Yes, Mr Ram Jethmalani is my relative — one of my grandfather's brothers." ↩
Jethmalani obtained his LL.B degree at the age of 17 and started practising law in his hometown, Shikarpur, until the Partition of India. The partition led him to move to Mumbai as a refugee where he began his life and career afresh. He announced his retirement from judicial profession in 2017.1
Jethmalani was awarded the Human Rights Award by World Peace Through Law in 1977. He authored books such as Big Egos, Small Men; Conscience of a Maverick; and Maverick: Unchanged, Unrepentant; among others. He also co-authored legal scholarly books on different fields of law.
Personal life
Jethmalani was born on 14 September 1923 in Shikarpur, Sindh in the Sindh division of the then Bombay Presidency (today a part of Pakistan) to Boolchand Gurmukhdas Jethmalani and Parbati Boolchand.23 He got a double promotion in school and completed matriculation at the age of 13. At the age of 17 he secured an LL.B. degree from the University of Bombay with a first class distinction. At that time, the minimum age for becoming a lawyer was 21, but a special exception (resulting from an application that he made to the court contesting the rule regarding minimum age) allowed him to become a lawyer at the age of 18.4 He received his LL.M. from Bombay University, since Sindh did not have a university of its own at that time.5
Jethmalani married his first wife, Durga, in a traditional Indian arranged marriage, around the age of 18. In 1947, just before the Partition of India, he married his second wife, Ratna Shahani, a lawyer by profession. His family includes both of his wives and four children – three by Durga (Rani, Shobha, Mahesh) and one by Ratna (Janak).46 Among his two sons and two daughters, Mahesh and Rani have been supreme court lawyers while Mahesh is also a BJP leader, and Rani a social activist.7Kamna Jethmalani, an actress in Telugu and Tamil films is related to him. She is the granddaughter of one of his brothers.89
Jethmalani died on 8 September 2019 in New Delhi at his home at the age of 95.2 According to his son Mahesh Jethmalani, he had been unwell for the last few months of his life, and died at 7:45 am (IST), six days short of his 96th birthday.1011
Career
Legal career
Ram Jethmalani started his career as a lawyer and Professor in Sindh before partition.12 He started his own law firm in Karachi with his friend A. K. Brohi who was senior to him by seven years.4 In February 1948, when riots broke out in Karachi, he fled to India on the advice of his friend Brohi and when he came to India in that day he had only INR 10 in his pocket and with that note he stayed in the refugee camp for few days.12
Jethmalani fought his first case at the age of 17 in the Sindh High Court under Justice Godfrey Davis, contesting the rule regarding minimum age passed by the Bar Council of Sindh. In a talk at Algebra in June 2017, Jethmalani recounted his first case fought in India as a refugee. The newly introduced Bombay Refugees Act treated refugees in an inhumane manner, against which Jethmalani filed a case in the Bombay High Court, praying for the law to be declared unconstitutional, a case he won.13
Jethmalani later came to be noted for his appearance in the Nanavati case in 1959 with Y. V. Chandrachud, who was later to become the Chief Justice of India. His defence of a string of smugglers in the late 1960s established his image as a "smuggler's lawyer", to which he mentioned that he was only doing his duty as a lawyer.1415
On 9 September 2017, he announced his retirement from the legal profession.41
Political career
Jethmalani's experience during the partition as a refugee led him to advocate for better relations between India and Pakistan, which he sought throughout his political career.42 He contested as an independent candidate from Ulhasnagar supported both by the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Jana Sangh but he lost the elections.4 During the emergency period of 1975–1977, he was the chairman of the Bar Association of India. He heavily criticised then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. An arrest warrant was issued against him from Kerala which was stayed by the Bombay high court when over three hundred lawyers, led by Nani Palkhivala, appeared for him. However, the stay was nullified by the habeas corpus judgement in Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla.43 Jethmalani exiled himself in Canada carrying on his campaign against the emergency. He returned to India ten months later after the emergency was lifted. While in Canada, his candidature for the Parliament was filed from the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency. He won the election and retained the seat in 1980 general elections, but lost to Sunil Dutt in 1985. In the 1977 general elections after the emergency, he won against then serving Union law minister H. R. Gokhale from Bombay in the Lok Sabha elections, and hence started his political career as a parliamentarian.4 However he was not made law minister himself as Morarji Desai disapproved of his lifestyle.44
He had also announced his candidature for President of India stating: "I owe it to the nation to offer my services". He launched his own political fronts, the Bharat Mukti Morcha, as a "mass movement" in 1987. In 1995, he launched his own political party called the Pavitra Hindustan Kazhagam, with the motto to achieve "transparency in functioning of Indian democracy".44
In the 2004 Indian general election, he contested against Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate. The Indian National Congress did not field their candidates in this election; however, he lost. Later on, in 2010, he was given a Rajya Sabha ticket by Bharatiya Janata Party from Rajasthan and he was elected. He was also a member of the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.5 Jethmalani has been criticised as being "opportunistic" as a result of this.46 Jethmalani was noted for speaking his mind;47 at a reception hosted by the Pakistan High Commission for the Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar who was on a visit to India on 28 July 2011, Jethmalani in the presence of the Chinese ambassador called China an enemy of both India and Pakistan and warned the Indians and Pakistanis to beware of the Chinese.48
In 2012, Jethmalani wrote to then Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari, accusing opposition BJP leaders of being "silent against the huge corruption" within the ruling UPA-II government, and stated that BJP "is sick".50 Jethmalani's letter51 became public on the internet. The same year, in November, Jethmalani stated "When there are serious allegations against Gadkari, he should have stayed away, if only to raise his stature in the public eye".6 He also said "I am sure the RSS is trying to influence the functioning of the BJP. After all, BJP leaders have grown up with the RSS".6
In May 2013, BJP expelled Jethmalani from the party for six years, for having made anti-party statements.52 In October 2013, defamation charges were framed against BJP seeking ₹50 lakh (US$52,000) as "null and void and damages" for making a statement that he was not a fit person to be member of the party.5351
Later life
Jethmalani stepped into the role of an elder statesman, but took action on occasion, as he was also India's oldest practising lawyer.54 In 2017, he wrote an open letter to Justice C. S. Karnan, of the Calcutta High Court, who was embroiled in controversy:55
As a senior member of the Bar and living in the departure lounge of God’s airport I am advising you to withdraw every word that you have uttered and humbly pray for pardon for every stupid action you have so far indulged in, I am sorry to tell you that I am convinced you have lost your mind. Your behaviour is that of a lunatic and someday that may be the only defence available to you do with no bright chance of success.56
Karnan retired shortly thereafter.
Jethmalani died in 2019. Many former colleagues wrote remembrances of him.5758
Actor Sumeet Vyas portrays Ram Jethmalani in Hindi webseries The Verdict based on real life incident that is Nanavati case available on OTT platform Zee5 and in association with Ekta Kapoor's Alt Balaji.
S M, Shashiprasad (20 May 2015). "Kamna Jethmalani in Kathak mode". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 7 July 2024. Kamna says, "Yes, Mr Ram Jethmalani is my relative — one of my grandfather's brothers." ↩