Doyen of criminal law

Ram Jethmalani was famously known as the doyen of criminal law in the country. His tryst with the subject started at the young age of 18 and he practised it for nearly 60 years.

Born on September 14, 1923, in Sikhapur town of Sindh province, Jethmalani moved to India before Partition. In school, he got a double promotion, which helped him complete his matriculation when he was just 13. He went on to secure an LLB degree at the age of 17. And due to a special resolution, he became a lawyer at 18.

Jethmalani was known for his robust arguments and fought many high-profile cases in the Supreme Court, high courts and even trial courts. His presence inside a court, particularly trial courts, used to be so intimidating that people embroiled in legal cases would be willing to pay him through their nose to have him fly to distant places and appear for them.

He is particularly remembered for his arguments in the 1959 KM Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra case, in which he was the prosecutor.

Jethmalani also fought several other high-profile cases, one of which stands out — he had appeared in defence of Rajiv Gandhi’s killer in the Madras High Court in 2011.

Jethmalani also defended Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh in the securities scam of 1992. He had also strongly defended the death sentence given to Afzal Guru, the 2001 Parliament attack accused, and represented Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lal murder case.

Jethmalani’s political side was no less fascinating. He flirted with the Jan Sangh, BJP, and also contested Lok Sabha elections as an Independent. He was elected to the LS twice and held the portfolios of Law and Urban Development in two Vajpayee-led NDA governments.

But before that, what brought him to political limelight was his stiff opposition to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, a fact that even PM Modi mentioned in his tweet condoling Jethmalani’s death.

Jethmalani’s sharp criticism of the Emergency led to an arrest warrant against him. Rather than courting arrest, he opted for self-imposed exile in Canada. But he didn’t stop criticising Indira Gandhi and it became the bedrock of his political stint.

He became a Rajya Sabha member in 1988. But before being sworn in as an RS member in 1987, at the age of 64, Jethmalani announced his candidature for the President’s post. He also launched a political front called Bharat Mukti Morcha.

In 2004, he contested from Lucknow against Vajpayee, whom he never got along well even while serving as a minister in his Cabinet. He lost that election. But in 2010, he was back as a BJP RS member and many of his speeches even then had the treasury benches listening carefully.

His divorce with the BJP in 2012 started with a letter to then party president Nitin Gadkari. The tone and tenor of the letter was quintessential Jethmalani. His public barbs against the saffron party became more harsh and direct. And in the following year, the BJP expelled him for six years.

But that didn’t come in the way of his personal rapport with Modi or LK Advani. Advani would still be found attending his gatherings in Delhi. Even Modi held him in high esteem till the last day, say BJP insiders. — IANS