Fali Sam Nariman (10 January 1929 – 21 February 2024) was an Indian jurist. He was a senior advocate to 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 ...

from 1971 and was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. Nariman was an internationally recognised jurist on

international arbitration International arbitration can refer to arbitration between companies or individuals in different states, usually by including a provision for future disputes in a contract (typically referred to as international commercial arbitration) or betwee ...

and was also noted for his impact on constitutional jurisprudence in India. He was honoured with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2018. He was one of India's most distinguished constitutional lawyers and argued several leading cases. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to June 1975. Nariman was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

(1991), Padma Vibhushan (2007) and Gruber Prize for Justice (2002) and was a nominated member of the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, the Upper House of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

for a term (1999–2005).

Early life and education

Born in 1929 in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

parents Sam Bariyamji Nariman and Banoo Nariman, Fali did his schooling from the Bishop Cotton School,

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

. He then graduated in Economics and History from the St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, followed by a law degree (LL.B.) from the Government Law College, Mumbai in 1950, after standing first in the Examination and being awarded the Kinlock Forbes Gold Medal and Prize for Roman Law & Jurisprudence.Member Official Biography - N

website.
Announcement
* His father initially wanted him to write the Indian Civil Service Examination. Since he could not afford it at that time, he chose law as his last option.

Career

Nariman started his law practice at the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...

. After practising for 22 years, he was appointed a Senior Advocate in the

in 1971. He said that "My senior's senior, Jamsetjee Kanga was my mentor. He was like a father figure to me. He died at 93 and he is the one who, at the age of 92, told me that he was still learning. He had a tremendous memory and so does my son Rohinton. He was an Ordained Priest and so is Rohinton." Nariman was instrumental to the development of the Indian Constitution's Law. Nariman was Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to 25 June 1975, resigning from that post upon the Declaration of Emergency on 26 June 1975. Nariman argued in favour of Union carbide in the infamous Bhopal gas disaster case, which he later admitted was a mistake. He was instrumental in getting a deal between victims and the company outside court, which offered an amount of $470 million to the victims. He also argued in the famous case of the Supreme Court AoR Association, in which the Supreme Court took over the appointment of judges in the Higher Judiciary. He also appeared in many important cases like Golak Nath
S.P. GuptaT.M.A. Pai Foundation
etc. Nariman was the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan (in 2007) and

(in 1991), respectively the second and third highest honours granted to civilians by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

. Both awards were for Nariman's contributions to jurisprudence and public affairs. Nariman was awarded the Gruber Prize for Justice in 2002. He dedicated his awards to his alma mater Bishop Cotton School in Shimla. Nariman was a President-appointee member of the

(the upper house of the

) between 1999 and 2005. He served as President of International Council for Commercial Arbitration from 1994 onwards, President of the Bar Association of India from 1991, Vice-chairman of the Internal Court of Arbitration of the

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. ICC represents over 45 million businesses in over 170 countries who have interest ...

from 1989, honorary member of the International Commission of Jurists from 1988, and member of the

London Court of International Arbitration The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) is the oldest arbitral body in the world dealing with international disputes. It was founded as a British private company limited by guarantee with a head office in London. It offers dispu ...

from 1988. He was appointed to the advisory board of the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the United Nations General Assembl ...

in November 1999, and served as chairman of the executive committee of the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...

from 1995 to 1997. Nariman represented the

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

in the matter of the Narmada rehabilitation but resigned shortly after attacks on Christians in the area and the burning of copies of the Bible. In December 2009 the Committee on Judicial Accountability stated that it considered that recommendations for judicial appointments should only be made after a public debate, including review by members of the bar of the affected high courts. This statement was made in relation to controversy about the appointments of justices C. K. Prasad and P. D. Dinakaran. The statement was signed by

Ram Jethmalani Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (14 September 1923 – 8 September 2019) was an Indian lawyer and politician. He served as India's Union Minister of Law and Justice, as chairman of the Indian Bar Council, and as the president of the Supreme Court B ...

, Shanti Bhushan, Fali Sam Nariman, Anil B. Divan, Kamini Jaiswal and Prashant Bhushan. On 17 October 2014, he appeared for the former

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian Federated state, state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de ...

J. Jayalalitha in a conviction and obtained bail for her, which had earlier been rejected. Nariman was Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages' legal counsel in the Plachimada dispute.

Personal life and death

Nariman was married to Bapsi F. Nariman, since 1955, and the couple had two children, a son and a daughter and lived in New Delhi. His son Rohinton Nariman was a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, who had also held the post of the Solicitor General of India from 2011 to 2013. The Vis Moot East's '' Fali Nariman Award'' for 'Best Respondent's Memorandum' is named after Nariman. Fali Sam Nariman died on 21 February 2024, at the age of 95.'Bhishma Pitamah of lawyer community': Eminent jurist Fali S Nariman passes away at 95
The New Indian Express

Autobiography

Nariman's autobiography is called "Before Memory Fades: An Autobiography".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nariman, Fali Sam 1929 births 2024 deaths Indian barristers Indian solicitors Parsi people from Mumbai St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni University of Mumbai alumni Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Scholars from Delhi Senior advocates in India 20th-century Indian lawyers Parsi people Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni