Eminent jurist Fali Nariman passes away

NEW DELHI: Eminent jurist and constitutional expert Fali S Nariman passed away here on Wednesday.

He was 95.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country in condoling the death of Nariman.

He wrote on X, "Shri Fali Nariman Ji was among the most outstanding legal minds and intellectuals. He devoted his life to making justice accessible to common citizens. I am pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. May his soul rest in peace."

Nariman breathed his last early this morning. He was suffering from multiple ailments, including cardiac issues.

Born on January 10, 1929 in Yangoon in British Burna, Nariman did his LLB from Government Law College, University of Mumbai. He started his practice after joining the Bombay Bar in November, 1950.

He was designated as a senior advocate in 1971.

Nariman was appointed as Additional Solicitor General in May, 1972, which made him to shift from Mumbai to Delhi.

However, he resigned in June 1975 in protest against imposition of emergency by Indira Gandhi.

He was awarded with Padma Bhushan in 1991 and Padma Vibhushan in 2007.

During his long practice, Nariman has been part of several landmark constitutional bench decisions, including the NJAC Act which sought to replace the Collegium system of appointment of judges.

He is the father of former Supreme Court judge Rohinton F Nariman. 

In her remarks, senior advocate Indira Jaising said, Nariman was the last of a generation of lawyers from Bombay who shaped and moulded the history of constitutional law in India, a voice that stood by secular values, for the independence of the judiciary. 

Senior advocate A M Singhvi wrote in passing of Fali Nariman, it was en end of an era. "He was a living legend who will forever be in hearts and minds of those in law and public life. Above all his diverse achievements, he stuck to his principles unwaveringly and called a spade a spade, a quality shared by his brilliant son," he wrote on X.

Singhvi recalled, as a raconteur and after dinner speaker, Fali was matchless.

"It was he who said that using phrase “horse trading” when humans defect is an insult to horses, very loyal animals. He would dig out nuggets of history and marry them incomparably with his wit when speaking," he said.

Former Law Minister and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, "Not just one of the greatest lawyers of our country but one of the finest human beings who stood like a colossus above all. The corridors of the court will never be the same without him."