Rustom Cavasjee Cooper (18 August 1922 – 18 June 2013) was an Indian politician and chartered accountant. He served as treasurer and general-secretary of

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly s ...

. Between 1963 – 1964, he also served as president of

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is India's largest professional accounting body under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It was established on 1 July 1949 as a statutory ...

Early life

R. C. Cooper got his early education from

Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics Sydenham College of Economics is a college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is affiliated to the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in management. It was awarded a re-accreditat ...

and University School of Economics in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

. Later, he received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

from

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

. On 19 December 1954, Cooper married Zarin Mehta. They both had two daughters.

Positions held

* 1960-65 – Member, Research Programmes Committee in

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and ...

. * 1960-71 – Senior Partner, ''Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart.'' * 1963-64 – President,

. * 1964-65 – Member, Central Direct Taxes Advising Committee. * 1964-66 – chairman, Bennett, Coleman. * 1966 – Vice Chairman,

Indian Merchants' Chamber Indian Merchants' Chamber, established on 7 September 1907 in Mumbai, is an organization of India, representing interests of Indian trade, commerce, and industry. It was organized originally during the days of the British Raj to promote trade, co ...

. * 1967 – President,

''Rustom Cavasjee Cooper vs Union of India''

On 19 July 1969, Acting President

V. V. Giri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (; 10 August 1894 — 24 June 1980) was an Indian politician and activist from Berhampur in Odisha who served as the 4th president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also 3rd vice president of India from ...

gave assent to the ordinance prepared by Indira Gandhi's government to nationalize fourteen banks, which held the deposits of more than fifty crores rupees. On 20 July 1969, Cooper who was one of the shareholders in

Central Bank of India Central Bank of India (CBI) is an Indian public sector bank based in Mumbai. Despite its name, it is not the central bank of India; The Indian central bank is the Reserve Bank of India. History The Central Bank of India was established o ...

Bank of Baroda Bank of Baroda (BOB or BoB) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat. It is the second largest public sector bank in India after State Bank of India, with 132 million customers, a total business of US$218 billion, an ...

Union Bank of India Union Bank of India, commonly referred to as Union Bank or UBI, is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Mumbai. It has 120+ million customers and a total business of US$106 billion. After the amalgamation with Corporation Bank and A ...

and

Bank of India Bank of India (BOI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Founded in 1906, it has been government-owned since nationalisation in 1969. BoI is a founder member of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter ...

filed petition in

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India (IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

challenging the ordinance and claiming violation of their rights under ''Article 14, Article 19'' and ''Article 31'' of

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental r ...

. On 21 July 1969, Indira Gandhi's government brought ''Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)'' ''Act'' on the floor of

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

. On 22 July 1969, an eight-judge bench of

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

gave interim order restraining the government to remove banks chairmen and giving the direction to the banks under ''Banking Companies Act 1968,'' despite

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Niren De Niren De was an Indian Lawyer and was the Attorney General of India from November 1968 to March 1977 and it covered Indian Emergency. He was earlier the Solicitor General of India. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1974. He was also the Chairma ...

's argument that nationalization is a policy decision and not subject to court scrutiny''.'' On 4 August 1969,

passed ''Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)'' ''Act'' ''1969.'' On 10 February 1970, eleven-judge bench of

with a majority judgement of ten to one struck down the Act. ''Section 15(2)(e)'' of the Act was held unreasonable by the bench which prohibited these banks from carrying on banking business. But the court ruled that the said Act is not violative of ''Article 19(1)(f)'' as the State has the right to carry absolute monopoly, giving reference to ''Akadasi Padhan vs State Of Orissa'' judgement of 1962. Justice

A. N. Ray Ajit Nath Ray (29 January 1912 – 25 December 2009) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from 25 April 1973 till his retirement on 28 January 1977. Ray was the lone dissenter among the eleven Supreme Court judges that examine ...

was the lone dissenter in this eleven-judge bench. He held that the compensation fixed by legislature cannot be questioned in court. In this case, Justice

Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah (22 January 1906 – 4 January 1991) was the twelfth Chief Justice of India from 17 December 1970 until his retirement on 21 January 1971. He was born in Ahmedabad. Early life and legal career Shah attended schooli ...

presided over the bench.

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

Mohammad Hidayatullah Mohammad Hidayatullah OBE (17 December 1905 – 18 September 1992) was the 11th Chief Justice of India serving from 25 February 1968 to 16 December 1970, and the sixth vice president of India, serving from 31 August 1979 to 30 August 1984. He ...

recused himself from the case as he gave the assent to the Act as an Acting President. R. C. Cooper was represented by lawyers

Nanabhoy Palkhivala Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala (16 January 1920 – 11 December 2002) was an Indian jurist and liberal economist. Early years Nani Palkhivala was born in 1920 in Bombay in what was then the Bombay Presidency. His family name derives from the pro ...

M. C. Chagla Mahomedali Currim Chagla (30 September 1900 – 9 February 1981) was an Indian jurist, diplomat, and Cabinet Minister who served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from 1947 to 1958. Early life and education Born on 30 September ...

, J. B. Dadachanji, etc. Government side was represented by

, Solicitor General Jagdish Swarup,

M. C. Setalvad Motilal Chimanlal Setalvad (c. 1884 – 1974) was an eminent Indian jurist, who became the first and longest serving Attorney General for India (1950–1963). He also remained the Chairman of the first Law Commission of India (1955–1958), which ...

C. K. Daphtary Chander Kishan Daphtary ( 1 April 1893 – 18 February 1983) was an Indian lawyer and was the first Solicitor General of India from 1950 to 1963. He was the Attorney General for India from 1963 to 1968. He was the President of the Bar Associa ...

, etc. Intervenor for the government included

Mohan Kumaramangalam Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam ( ta, சுரேந்திர மோகன் குமாரமங்கலம்) (1 November 1916 — 30 May 1973) was an Indian politician and communist theorist who was a member of the Communist Party of ...

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawa ...

, etc.

References

{{Reflist 1922 births 2013 deaths Swatantra Party politicians Singaporean people of Parsi descent