Subodh Markandeya is a senior Indian lawyer, author and judicial activist. He primarily practices 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 ...

, but also appears in various high courts. He has served as the standing counsel for

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 ...

, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), State of Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation (UPFC), Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board (U.P.S.E.B.), Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and numerous developmental authorities. He was appointed '

amicus curiae An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...

' (friend of the court) by the Supreme Court in the '

Tihar Jail Tihar Prisons, popularly known as Tihar Jail, are a prison complex in India and are one of the largest complexes of prisons in India. There are 9 functional prisons spread over more than 400 acres. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, the prison ...

Enquiry' (1982–85).

Education

Markandeya took his BSc degree from the Nizam's College in 1956 and LL.B. from City Centre of

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, issued a ''firman'' calling f ...

Law College (OULC) in 1959. He obtained his master's degree in law in constitutional and international law from the Campus Centre of OULC in 1963.

Legal career

Markandeya apprenticed with, and was also a junior to Ramkrishen Rao Nimbalkar, a leading lawyer of the City Civil Court,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, onetime president of its bar association and member of the first Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh, where he engaged in civil law practice. In 1965, he got the opportunity to practice under Jagdish Swarup, legendary lawyer of

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established o ...

, where he honed his skills in the civil, constitutional, regulatory and interpretation laws. He also acquired independent cases for the

, particularly in labour and service laws. In 1968 he shifted to Supreme Court as a trainee Advocate-on-Record (AOR) under R. Vasudev Pillai. He was enrolled as AOR by the Supreme Court in 1970 and appeared in several '

cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...

' cases from all over India. He was appointed standing counsel by the Central Government in 1977 and he appeared in cases of prime importance, including ''Minerva Mills vs. Union of India'', ''Som Prakash Rekhi vs. UOI'' (3), and ''Sanjay Gandhi vs. Delhi Administration''. The Supreme Court appointed him ''

'' in the "Tihar Jail Enquiry" Case, which spurred major jail reforms and protection of prisoners' human rights. A petition was moved in the Supreme Court by Markandeya contending that the resignations submitted by MLAs on the issue of Telangana be deemed to have been accepted by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker. He said MLAs belonging to Telangana, irrespective of their political affiliations, submitted their resignations to the Speaker, who acknowledged the receipt of 139 letters. During the Emergency, his joint efforts with R. P. Goel, ater Advocate General of Uttar Pradeshbrought succour and freedom to hundreds of detenues throughout India and particularly Uttar Pradesh. Markandeya was also appointed Counsel for the Allahabad High Court, State of Uttar Pradesh, its various Public Undertakings, Development Authorities, Universities and local bodies. He also appeared for a number of public sector undertakings like Life Insurance Corporation,

Books written

On legal subjects – *The Customs Act, 1962 (JAICO – 1975) *The Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 1973 (JAICO – 1977) *The Imports & Exports Control Act, 1947 (N.M. Tripati – 1977) *The Foreign Trade (Regulation & Development) Act, 1998 (Universal −1998) *The Customs Act, 1962 (Universal - 2003) On General topics: *''SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE – Netaji's Passage to Immortality'' (Arnold – 1991 and 1997)

Legislations drafted

*State of Uttarakhand Act, 1996 (enacted by Indian Parliament as the Uttar Pradesh Re-organisation Act, 2000) *Election Laws (Reforms) Act, 1997 (submitted to Law Commission of India) *House of the People & State Assemblies (Special Provisions) Act, 1998 *U.P. Land Acquisition for Development Authorities (Special Provisions Act, 1999 *Uttaranchal Conservation of Environment and Preservation & Augmentation of Glacial and Forest Resources Act, 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:markandeya, Subodh 20th-century Indian lawyers 1937 births Living people Criminal defense lawyers Indian Senior Counsel Indian civil rights activists Indian anti-corruption activists Senior advocates in India English-language writers from India 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian educational theorists Indian legal scholars Scholars from Hyderabad, India People from Delhi