‘My client is the independence of the judiciary’: In sterling 7-decade career, Nariman left lasting imprint on judiciary

He began his legal practice in 1950, the same year in which the Constitution he fiercely defended for over seven decades came into effect. Despite making fewer courtroom appearances since 2020, his stature and the long innings he played have earned him an enduring place as the north star for the judiciary.

Born in Rangoon (now Yangon) on January 10, 1929, to Sam Bariyamji Nariman and Banoo Nariman, Nariman studied in Shimla before his family moved to Bombay, now Mumbai. Nariman graduated in law from the Government Law College, Bombay, in 1950, and started his law practice at the Bombay High Court, joining the chambers of the veteran Jamshedji Behramji Kanga. In 1971, he became a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court.

Nariman practised in the Bombay High Court for 22 years before moving to Delhi. In 1971, he was designated a senior advocate and, in the next year, he was appointed the Additional Solicitor General of India by the then Congress government.

Just two days after the Emergency was imposed, Nariman resigned from his post, despite being, by his own admission, “Law Officer No. 3”.

Nariman never took up a government post after that. But he spearheaded virtually every leading Constitutional law case for the next two decades. He mixed his trademark wit and cheerful nature with the seriousness his arguments deserved in the courtroom.

Defending the rights of minority educational institutions, Nariman was the lead counsel in several cases on the issue from 1992 to 2002 before five-, seven- and 11-judge benches. The most notable among those is the 11-judge bench ruling in TMA Pai Foundation v State of Karnataka.

He frequently wrote on key constitutional debates: from the basic structure doctrine to the Centre’s abrogation of Article 370, which he termed “political but not constitutional.”

Nariman’s interventions on issues, even the unprecedented press conference in 2018 by four senior top court  judges, were framed with an unabated faith in the Supreme Court and the rule of law.

When asked by this reporter if he worried that the SC someday could overturn the Kesavanada Bharati ruling that established the basic structure doctrine, Nariman said any “sane judge” retain would retain it. “God willing, they are all still sane,” he added with a chuckle.