Motilal Chimanlal Setalvad (c. 1884 – 1974) was an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. Setalvad was the first and longest serving

Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India is the chief legal advisor of the Government of India. The Attorney General is appointed by the President of India at the instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and hold office du ...

, serving from 1950 to 1963. He also remained the Chairman of the first

Law Commission of India The Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. The commission's function is to research and advise the government on legal reform, and is composition of legal experts, and headed by a retire ...

(1955–1958), which has mandated for

legal reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or law commissions ...

in the country by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. He became the first Chairman of the

Bar Council of India Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body established under section 4 of the Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and represent the In ...

in 1961. He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

, India's second highest civilian honor, by the

in 1957.

Biography

The son of noted lawyer Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad, Setalvad was born in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

to a gujarati brahmin family. He studied at Government Law College, Mumbai. Setalvad started practicing law in Bombay and eventually became Advocate General of Bombay and Attorney General for India in 1950, in the formative years of Government of India, under

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

. Setalvad appeared for the government in a host of important and, at times, controversial cases. He was also involved with the Radcliffe Tribunal for demarcation of the India-Pakistan border and several UN proceedings on Kashmir. He chaired the first Law Commission of independent India, in which capacity he not just advised the government on crucial reforms and legislation but also created a framework for the Commission’s future functioning. Setalvad died in 1974.

Personal life

His son, Atul Setalvad (25 October 1933 - 22 July 2010) was a Mumbai-based lawyer and his daughter-in-law Sita Setalvad, a rural crafts exponent, while his granddaughter, Teesta Setalvad, is an activist and journalist.

Bibliography

* ''My life; law and other things'', 1970. *

References

External links

M. C. Setalvad, Biography

Of reform and resistance

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Setalvad, M. C. 20th-century Indian lawyers 1880s births 1974 deaths Indian autobiographers Attorneys general of India Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha 19th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian biographers 20th-century Indian male writers mr:मोतीलाल चिमणलाल सेटलवाड