Jethmalani has aptly been described as the ‘Professor of Professors’.
It is unfortunate that the nation has lost one of its greatest legal minds. It is undisputed that Mr Ram Jethmalani was a doyen of criminal law, as well as being a champion of the art of cross examination and rules of evidence, earning him universal recognition and acclaim. He was also equally known for his maverick nature and unconventional style.
Mr Jethmalani’s achievements are well known and need no exposition. Instead, I would be sharing a few glimpses of my remembrance and interaction with the departed soul.
In 1975-76, the nation was amidst a time of great turmoil. Emergency had been declared and we were all dealing with its effects and consequences. At the time, as a young undergraduate college student in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, I heard his name for the first time, being from a family of lawyers (my father Late Justice R.K. Tankha was a senior lawyer and thereafter a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court). Mr Jethmalani’s name came up on account of the fact that he was a vocal critic of the Emergency; and had successfully managed to evade arrest despite a warrant being issued against him for a fiery speech against Emergency at a lawyers’ meet at Palaghat, Kerala. The same had the authorities in a tizzy.
Interestingly, my late father, Justice R.K. Tankha was also one of the authors of the High Court judgement in the ADM Jabalpur case, holding that the Fundamental Rights as guaranteed under the Constitution could not be suspended even during the time of Emergency. The said judgement was eventually taken to the Supreme Court in appeal, with Mr Shanti Bhushan, Mr Anil Divan and Mr Jethmalani vehemently opposing the detention of several political leaders, and this resulted in the now oft critiqued judgement in ADM Jabalpur vs Shivkant Shukla.
After completing my graduation, I went on to pursue my LLB degree from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University in 1976. At the time, I was fortunate enough to be close to another great contemporary lawyer of the times, Sardar Rajendra Singh. During my time as a law student, I would accompany Sardar Singh to court and attend matters. At the time, between Sardar Singh and Mr Jethmalani there was a virtual stranglehold on all major criminal matters, with one party engaging the either of these two stalwarts.
My first meeting with Mr Jethmalani was in 1978 at the Tis Hazari District Court Complex, when I accompanied Sardar Singh to attend the “Kissa Kursi Ka” trial, which went on for a considerable period of time. Mr Sanjay Gandhi, along with Mrs Gandhi’s former Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr V.C. Shukla, were facing trial for allegedly destroying prints of the Hindi feature film Kissa Kursi Ka. Sardar Singh was the lead counsel for the defence, ably assisted by other leading lawyers of the time such as Mr Hansarj Bhardwaj and Mr Arora. Mr Jethmalani was leading the prosecution. This was the first time that I countenanced two such divergent and distinct styles of advocacy. On one hand was Sardar Singh, who argued in the vein of a typical English barrister, with eloquence and etiquette waxing exposition, and on the other side there was Mr Jethmalani with his strong, crisp and aggressive style. Ultimately, this matter was resolved by the Supreme Court setting aside the punishment order.
If my memory is not wrong, a short while thereafter I next had a glimpse of Mr Jethmalani when I again accompanied Sardar Singh to attend the proceedings of the infamous Shah Commission set up to probe the Emergency. Personally, I did not see much of advocacy there, but instead I saw attempted persecution of several Congress leaders including Mrs Gandhi through the medium of a Commission.
After obtaining my law degree, I started my practice at the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in Jabalpur in 1979. Even there I would occasionally see Mr Jethmalani at the High Court where he was engaged to argue high profile matters. I also distinctly recall meeting his daughter Rani as well, as she would also independently travel to the High Court to attend to her cases.
My proximity to Mr Jethmalani grew closer after I was appointed Advocate General of Madhya Pradesh from 1999 to 2003 and more so after I shifted base to Delhi in 2004. As the Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Foundation in Delhi, we initiated a lecture series in memory of eminent lawyer, freedom fighter and political stalwart, Kailash Nath Katju, who held various portfolios of Governor, Union Minister and Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh. Through the course of this lecture series, the panel of speakers we managed to arrange was an eminent and erudite one, comprising mostly sitting Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Supreme Court. Alongside them, eminent lawyers and jurists Mr Jethmalani and Mr Fali S. Nariman were also distinguished speakers. The people thoroughly enjoyed his addresses, which were equally engaging and thought provoking at the same time. Mr Jethmalani was one who always freely spoke his mind. Mr Jethmalani was also gracious enough to host dinner for the judges, lawyers and audience a few times at his 2, Akbar Road residence.
Thereafter, we also used to run into each other in the corridors of the Supreme Court, and on a few occasions we even appeared in the same matters. His presence in the Supreme Court was always a pleasure to watch, with his dramatic and characteristic style often resulting in pin drop silence, as both judges and the other lawyers present would listen, captivated.
When I became a Member of the Rajya Sabha in 2014, my bond with Mr Jethmalani deepened further. Our seats in the House were very close to each other. Benefitting from this advantageous proximity, we would often chit chat. He would also call upon me at times when he arrived in the midst of a debate to fill him in on what had transpired thus far, so that he would be in a position to better understand the debate. His interventions in Parliament were always sharp and heard with rapt attention. In fact, two doyens of our bar, Mr Arun Jaitley and Mr Jethmalani were both MPs during this period. It is most unfortunate that both have passed away within such a short span of time.
I also recall that during one of our meetings, he gave a very pinpointed narration of his interaction with Mrs Indira Gandhi. They chanced upon each other at the home of a mutual friend, Mr A.R. Antulay. Despite being one of the staunchest critics of both Mrs Gandhi and the Emergency, he told me that their rencontre lasted for almost half an hour, and that they got along splendidly during the time. Mr Jethmalani was captivated by her aura and personality, and this meeting went a long way in easing the tensions between them.
However, perhaps not many may know that one of Mr Jethmalani’s lesser acknowledged contributions was also in the field of legal education. He always had a love of learning and was especially encouraging towards law students, constantly pushing them to broaden their horizons and think outside the box. As Chairman of the Bar Council of India, he was instrumental in setting up the National Law School of India University (NLS), Bangalore, India’s first five-year legal programme for students. This acted as the catalyst which saw a mushrooming of various National Law Schools across the country and changed the landscape of legal education of the country, with the National Law Schools continuing to be pioneers in the field of legal education in India. When law students were overburdened with multiple entrance examinations for various law schools, Mr Jethmalani appreciated my efforts to bring about a common entrance examination for all National Law Schools.
He continued to actively associate himself with students and was constantly delivering lectures across various law schools in the country. At my request he also went to address students at the NLIU Bhopal at the Justice R.K. Tankha Memorial Meet in 2017. He enthralled the students with his attacking speech and witty remarks, leading to a demand from students to bring more such speakers to the university. He has also aptly been described as the “Professor of Professors”.
The law fraternity is poorer in his absence. We will miss his presence, repartee and incisive knowledge. A doyen of our bar has left us from the departure lounge of God’s airport, to use Mr. Jethmalani’s euphemism itself.
Vivek Tankha is a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India and a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).