'This Loss Feels Personal’: How Fali Sam Nariman Was My North Star in Life & Law

Fali’s guidance paved the way for our victory in the NJAC case on 16 October 2015.

I have never worked with Fali, but I got to know and interact with him closely in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) matter in which I was one of the first petitioners in person.

(Photo: The Quint)

The legendary Mr Fali Sam Nariman is no more. With the passing away of the noted jurist early morning on 21 February, the legal fraternity lost a giant! The loss is irreparable; an era has come to an end.

I have never worked with Fali, but I got to know and interact with him closely in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) matter in which I was one of the first petitioners in person [W.P (C) No.24/2015].

This was also true in the meetings of India International Law Foundation (IILF) in which Fali held the post of Vice President till date. Hon’ble Mr Justice Dalveer Bhandari – the present judge of the International Court of Justice is the current President and I am a member of the foundation.

How Sam Nariman and Other Greats Inspired My Legal Innings

Fali’s guidance paved the way for our victory on 16 October 2015.

I must also mention the magnificent contribution of another legend Ram Jethmalani to the NJAC matter. Ashoke Sen, Ram Jethmalani and Fali Sam Nariman are the greatest joint champions in the legal profession that I’ve seen.

When I interacted with such tall members of the bar, I could fully justify my decision to enter the legal profession which I took up rather late in my life as sixth innings after being the first-generation lawyer in the family.

Through the nineties, every day was a learning curve for me. Just sitting inside the court and watching them in action shaped my career in law.

A piece of advice to young members of the bar: please watch court proceedings and learn. There is no substitute, I can assure you.

Humble, Benign and a Music-Lover, Nariman Shined With His Personality

Fali was a great human being; simple to the core, always smiling and encouraging to whoever crossed his path.

At a personal level, he maintained an austere life using his Ambassador car even though he must have been one of the highest taxpayers in the country.

Once the Business Standard asked me to review his book, which I did. The next day in the SC bar corridor, Fali patted me on my back with a loving smile: he told me that I had taken great pains to read and review his work. “But who asked you to write?" Fali queried. I replied: “The editor”. Fun moments like that were only common between us.

We bonded over Bollywood music, especially Hindi film songs to which he could never say 'No' and attended my sessions invariably with Madam Bapsi. An added bonus was his appreciation of my songs in the court next day.

For three-and-a-half decades I’ve been fortunate to cross paths with the greatest legal minds bearing the highest integrity in the legal profession. Sam Nariman was undoubtedly one of them along with Ram, Ashoke Sen, RK Garg, Dr Chitale, Soli, Anil Divan, PP Rao, Andhyarujina, Ashok Desai, and many others.

With the passing away of each giant, the void in the legal profession is intensifying! Alas, we shall miss you, Fali! RIP.

(The author is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court and a former Additional Solicitor General of India. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)