Anil B. Divan (15 May 1930 – 20 March 2017) was a senior advocate in India. He has been described as an eminent constitutional expert.

Life and career

Anil B. Divan was born on 15 May 1930 and died 20 March 2017. He was president of Law Asia from 1991 to 1993. From February 2009 he was Associate President of the Bar Association of India. He argued in the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

on a "pro bono" basis in many Public Interest Litigations (PILs), some involving high-level corruption, as an "Amicus Curiae". In 2004 he was a member of the committee on Water Resources Law of the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

. He has been appointed by the government to help resolve

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

Water Disputes. In the late 1980s, Divan was one of the founders of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, a

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

that conducts litigation on matters of public interest. The first president was Justice V. M. Tarkunde, who was also the founder of the

People's Union for Civil Liberties People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) is a human rights body formed in India in 1976 by Jayaprakash Narayan, as the People's Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights (PUCLDR). Background Indian emergency Jayaprakash Narayan was ...

. Other founder members were senior advocates including Fali Sam Nariman, Shanti Bhushan,

Rajinder Sachar Rajindar Sachar (22 December 1923 – 20 April 2018) was an Indian lawyer and a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He was a member of United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and also served as a c ...

and Colin Gonsalves. In February 2005,

Prashant Bhushan Prashant Bhushan (born 15 October 1956) is an Indian author and a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. He was a member of the faction of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement known as Team Anna which supported Anna Ha ...

and Anil B. Divan were counsel for the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) seeking quashing of the CVC Act, 2003, which requires the CBI to obtain permission from the Union government before registering corruption cases against senior bureaucrats. Bhushan argued that the act violated the basic rights of citizens and was counter to the rule of law. The Supreme Court referred the question to a constitution bench of five judges. Divan was a member of the Committee on Judicial Accountability. Commenting on the Judges Enquiry Bill, 2006, he said "The aforementioned new bill is worse than the old Judges Inquiry Act and it needs to be scrapped in toto. This new bill is nothing but a sham". Divan's son Shyam Divan is also a lawyer practising in the Supreme Court. His daughter-in-law, Madhavi Goradia Divan is an author of books on law and also a practising lawyer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Divan, Anil B. 1930 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Indian lawyers Senior advocates in India