Fair trial,even for those reviled

Ram Jethmalani,the country's most celebrated criminal lawyer,stands by his decision to defend Indira Gandhis alleged assassins....

At 86,Ram Jethmalani,arguably the country8217;s most controversial criminal lawyer-politician,still thinks that representing the two accused in Indira Gandhis assassination was the right thing to do. It not only saved one of them from the gallows,it also proved that even sensational cases couldn8217;t subvert the right to a fair trial. Jethmalani says that the two guards,Satwant Singh and Beant Singh,probably shot her under misguided anger. Furthermore,for the police to shoot down Beant Singh even after he had surrendered was against the law,according to Jethmalani.

When asked why he had agreed to represent Beant Singh8217;s uncle Kehar Singh and the other alleged conspirator Balbir Singh,Jethmalani says,The convicts indicated that they wanted my services and the High Court subsequently asked for my consent, Jethmalani remembers.

Did he have a choice to say No?

8220;Absolutely not. In the tradition of our profession,the request to represent an accused is treated as a command. And the rest is history. The Supreme Court held that the case against Balbir Singh was false. A person sent to the gallows in two judicial orders could walk free again and according to me,Kehar was convicted on thin evidence. I still believe he was innocent,but he was eventually hanged in 1989,8221; the senior lawyer says.

Asked how his family reacted to his decision,Jethmalani says,8221;My son and daughter are lawyers and they know that a lawyer who refuses to defend a person on the ground that people believe him to be guilty is himself guilty of professional misconduct.8221; The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP had removed him from party membership after he took up the case. Jethmalani says that his professional obligations trumped all other considerations and laments that the BJP had 8220;no decency to apologise8221; even after one man was held to be innocent. Jethmalani later served as law minister in the BJP-led NDA government. Ever the contrarian,he resigned after he fell out with the government.

This case is representative of Jethmalani8217;s track record for defending those reviled and judged in the court of public opinion. In the past he has defended Harshad Mehta,Manu Sharma,well-known Mumbai smugglers and terror suspects. One can criticise his politics and clientele,but it is hard to find fault with his commitment to the guarantee of a fair trial for those most reviled.

More than any other lawyer,he has breathed life into Article 22 the Constitutional protection against arbitrary arrest and detention.