The passing of India’s first additional solicitor general, Fali Sam Nariman, on 21 February 2024, at 95, marks the end of an era as India loses one of its finest first generation of lawyers who began his practice soon after the enactment of the Constitution of India.
Percival Billimoria, a senior advocate, fondly remembers Nariman as, “a doyen of the bar. His views and writings were delightful and taken very seriously by the bar and the bench. A supremo as a guardian of the constitution and what it stands for”.
Nariman, a Parsi with his roots in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), was born on 10 January 1929. His father Sam Nariman arrived in Rangoon in 1927 to establish a branch office for the New India Assurance Co Ltd, and a year later he met and married Banoo Burjorjee in 1928.
Years later, Fali Nariman’s unique legal journey, rooted in Bombay’s Parsi community, began in commercial law before he relocated to Delhi in 1971. As a post-independence lawyer, Nariman aligned with business interests, challenging laws affecting both commerce and land.
At the age of 46, he took over as the additional solicitor general of India. His commitment to democracy came to the fore during the 1975 Emergency when he tendered a one-line letter of resignation.
Nariman was among the few who believed in individual conscience over political convenience. The legal landscape shifted post-emergency with the rise of public interest litigation, focusing on human rights.
Nariman, now a senior advocate was full of the trademark Parsi wit and wisdom, second only to another doyen of the law, Attorney General CK Daphtary whose astute intelligence had the bar and bench scratching their heads to circumvent his arguments not without a dose of good-natured humour that kept the courts alive.
In his autobiography, Before Memory Fades, Nariman recalls some advice CK Daphtary gave: “Fali, it is more important to spend time thinking about the case than merely reading the brief.” And he did.
Nariman represented the Union Carbide Corporation and its American directors in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas disaster. It was one of his big cases, negotiating a USD470 million settlement approved by the Supreme Court. He later also contributed and played an instrumental role in the Vishaka case, which became a bedrock of developing and establishing guidelines for workplace sexual harassment.
“Mr Nariman, was one of the greatest legal luminaries to walk the corridors of the Supreme Court. His legal acumen and command over language while articulating arguments has inspired many in the profession,” said Sumit Roy, founder of Claritas Legal.
Roy is right in his assessment. Nariman’s intervention and influence extended to shaping the collegium system for judge appointments, advancing the independence of the judiciary.
Nariman went on to author various books on the law, including The State of the Nation, India’s Legal System – Can it be Saved?, God Save the Hon’ble Supreme Court, Harmony Amidst Disharmony, and his latest, You Must Know Your Constitution that was released in 2023.
The legacy of the late Fali Sam Nariman includes his unwavering commitment to minority rights and secularism, emphasising the constitution’s defence in its current form against the many challenges in an ideological state.
Nariman was a valued member of India Business Law Journal‘s editorial board for several years.
