Justice M S Liberhan, who probed Babri Masjid demolition, dies at 87

The Justice Liberhan Commission submitted its report on the December 6, 1992, demolition of the Babri mosque by kar sevaks after nearly 17 years, becoming one of the longest-running commissions of inquiry in India’s history.

Dignity, patience and grace in the service of justice

Yet, for members of the legal fraternity, he was never defined solely by the commission or by the offices he held. To generations of lawyers, he remained simply Justice Liberhan— courteous and generous with younger members of the Bar. Even after retirement, he was known to stop for conversations, mentor young lawyers, and remain deeply interested in the institution to which he had devoted his working life.

Those who knew him say the Liberhan Commission was only one chapter in a much larger life dedicated to the administration of justice. His career reflected decades of quiet and often unsung public service, where duty was performed not for recognition but because it was expected.

Justice Liberhan will be remembered not only as the man who headed one of independent India’s most consequential commissions of inquiry, but also as a judge whose life embodied dignity, patience, and grace in the service of justice.