Justice Ramanlal Maneklal Kantawala (6 October 1916 – 2 May 1992) was the Chief Justice of 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 ...

from 1972 to 1978. He acted as the

Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor; however, the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Minister ...

state twice in 1976 and 1977.

Background

Kantawala studied at the Cambay High School and Gujarat College in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. Later, he went to

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the edu ...

and the Government Law College, Bombay. Kantawala graduated in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

with highest distinctions and was awarded the 'Daxina Fellowship' by the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

. He was a third generation lawyer in his family.

Career

Kantawala enrolled as an advocate on the Appellate side of the High Court of Bombay in 1941 and joined its Original side after clearing his Advocate's O.S. Examination two years later. B. J. Divan had also appeared alongside him there. S. T. Desai and Hormasji Maneckji Seervai were two of the examiners for this purpose. Kantawala worked in the chambers of Natwarlal H. Bhagwati who went on to become a Justice at 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 ...

later. Kantawala was appointed an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in February 1962 and made a Permanent Judge at the court in 1964.

Notable judgements

* The Bombay Committee of Lawyers for Civil Liberties was to hold a private discussion meeting on

Civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

and

Rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

restricted to lawyers and by invitation. This was in the wake of the Proclamation of Emergency by the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

. M. C. Chagla and former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah were scheduled to be two of the speakers. The

Police Commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

denied his permission for the meeting to be held. This was challenged at the

and heard by a Bench of Justices Kantawala and V. D. Tulzapurkar. The court set aside the Commissioner's order in ''Nathwani v. The State''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kantawala, R. M. 1916 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Indian judges Chief justices of the Bombay High Court Scholars from Ahmedabad University of Mumbai alumni 20th-century Indian lawyers