Jurist and veteran lawyer Fali Sam Nariman had certain ‘old-school’ habits that won him great goodwill in the crowded corridors of the Supreme Court. One was his tradition of writing letters to retiring judges—always a note of thanks or praise. But Nariman also spoke truth to power with a clarity and courage that few could match, whether it was a bad judgment or overreaching government decision.
“One should be forthright in one’s views, political views also,” he said in a 2017 interview with ThePrint editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta. True to his word, Nariman, a staunch defender of secularism, asked pointedly, “Ask the Prime Minister…is it true there is going to be a Hindu state?”
Referring to Yogi Adityanath in the same conversation, he remarked in his characteristically animated style that it was “a little odd” that a chief minister could also be a “head priest”— a comment that caused quite a stir on social media back then.
When Nariman died last February, just a month after his 95th birthday—on 10 January— tributes poured in. Two qualities stood out in newspaper editorials and eulogies from legal luminaries alike: his towering intellect and his role as the judiciary’s “conscience keeper.”
“If there was a bad judgement or a bad governmental decision, he would not hesitate to criticise it. Very few such people are now available to us,” said Professor Faizan Mustafa, currently the vice chancellor of Chanakya National Law University, Patna. “He was the nation’s conscience keeper.”
But Nariman isn’t remembered only for the landmark cases of his seven-decade career. Friends and colleagues still speak fondly about his humour, voracious appetite for cricket, and love for all things sweet. Mustafa also recalled Nariman’s generosity and encouragement.
“When I wrote an article on the three new criminal laws, he sent me a letter signed by him appreciating it and suggested I compile my articles and turn them into a book,” he said.
For senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose, Nariman embodied vanishing traditions of the legal profession—a time when senior lawyers commanded great respect from the Bar and took the task of mentoring juniors very seriously.
“A high point of my legal career as a young lawyer was when the great Fali Nariman, after watching me argue in a matter, actually came up to me and complimented me. Such words of encouragement work wonders and inspire young lawyers,” Ghose said. “Fali was cut out of the old tradition.”
Also Read: Fali Nariman’s criticism of the collegium system can’t be ignored. He’s its real author
‘All substance, no flamboyance’
Beyond his legal brilliance, Fali Nariman was guided by a strong sense of right and wrong. During the Emergency, he resigned as the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India, stating that the role no longer sat well with his conscience—a decision that bolstered his reputation as a man of principles.
Born in 1929 in Rangoon (now Yangon), Myanmar’s former capital, Nariman was the only son of Sam and Banoo Nariman— something that made him fairly “spoilt”, as he admitted in his 2010 book, Before Memory Fades: An Autobiography. But his comfortable childhood in a two-storied bungalow near Burma’s Royal Lake wasn’t to last. When the Japanese bombed Rangoon in 1941, the family was forced to flee to Delhi as refugees and start over.
After completing his schooling in Shimla, he went to Mumbai to pursue a graduate degree in economics and history from St. Xavier’s College, followed by a three-year law degree from Government Law College. There, he was taught by stalwarts like YV Chandrachud, who later became Chief Justice of India, and Nani Palkhivala, one of the greatest advocates of his time.
At just 21, Nariman began practising at the Bombay High Court, where he spent around two decades. He later explained in his book how several “prominent lawyers” doing well at the Bar felt constrained to decline offers of ‘elevation’ because the stagnant salaries of High Court judges couldn’t keep up with Mumbai’s forever rising living costs.
Nariman’s career continued to climb. Appointed ASG in 1972, he was later honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2007 for his exceptional contributions to law and public service.
In court, his style was sharp and to-the-point, but always courteous.
“It was all substance and no flamboyance or verbiage,” said Ghose. “While arguing before the court, he was neither too subservient nor too brusque, giving respect to the bench and yet maintaining his dignity.”
Nariman’s approach was also strategic.
“The most crucial learning as a practitioner from Mr. Nariman was his understanding that an arguing lawyer must understand the judge before whom one is to argue,” said senior advocate Shadan Farasat, who was appointed by the Punjab government as the Additional Advocate General (AAG), last year.
Between 1999 and 2005, Nariman served in the Rajya Sabha, directly appointed by the President of India. It was a role he cherished deeply.
“Those six years were the best time of my life,” he often said, according to Hyderabad-based lawyer Shayan Bisney, who worked as a judicial clerk to Nariman’s son, former Supreme Court judge RF Nariman.
Senior advocate and fourth-term MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi called Nariman the ideal Rajya Sabha nominee—someone who stood by his principles and didn’t shy away from speaking up, “even against his nominating party”.
“It is a tribute both to him and to his nominating party, in those times different from current times, that they cheerfully took his criticism on the chin,” Singhvi said.
Landmark cases and hard truths
Nariman was at the forefront of some of India’s most defining legal battles. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, he took on the Union government, helping establish the basic structure doctrine—a principle that safeguards the Constitution from being altered beyond recognition.
He also defended the collegium system for appointing judges in the National Judicial Appointments Commission case, a ruling that protected judicial independence.
But not every landmark case brought him pride. Among the most controversial was his defence of Union Carbide Corporation in the Bhopal gas tragedy case. Nariman later admitted it was a decision he regretted.
“I thought this was one more case which would add a feather to my cap,” he said in a 2021 interview. “I mean one is always ambitious at that age. But I found later… that it was not a case, it was a tragedy.”
Ghose said Nariman’s candour in admitting his missteps reflected his great courage. He also defended Nariman against critics who accused him of not being vocal enough on the “falling standards of judicial independence and integrity.”
“In his last few years, Fali had broken his silence and had passionately criticised judgements, such as the one on Article 370,” Ghose said.
On Article 370, Nariman expressed disappointment over the lack of dissenting voices in the Supreme Court’s verdict.
“A dissent would have made no difference to the outcome, but… it also sends a message of assurance to the ever curious and ever anxious general public that the highest court is in robust health and doing its allotted task well,” he said.
Former Supreme Court judge MB Lokur called Nariman “irreplaceable”.
“Many of us can write pages and pages of the goodness of Fali Nariman, but even that will not be enough,” he told ThePrint. “He is being sorely missed.”
Also Read: Advocate Fali Nariman stood for what was right. Even at the risk of upsetting judges
The man behind the lawyer
For Nariman’s colleagues and mentees, his warm personality left a mark just as much as his legal career.
“I would have a meal with him probably 2-3 times a week. Over lunch or dinner, we would discuss the law, cricket, politics,” Bisney said, adding that Nariman never hesitated to sign copies of his book for him or his friends.
“I would always carry a dessert or something savoury for him, which he always appreciated but always told me not to bring anything the next time. He enjoyed his meals and dessert even during his last years, especially cookies, teacakes, and banoffee pie,” Bisney added.
Cricket, too, was a constant. It “kept him up at night”, according to Bisney, and he followed everything from the Indian Premier League to test matches.
Known for his wit and presence of mind, the late lawyer always knew the right thing to say.
“As an after-dinner speaker, Fali was matchless,” said Abhishek Manu Singhvi. “It was he who said that using the phrase ‘horse trading’ when humans defect is an insult to horses who are very loyal animals. He would dig out nuggets of history and marry them incomparably with his wit.”
Nariman knew how to retrieve the situation even if he made a faux pas.
Hegde recalled a moment when Nariman bumped into someone he hadn’t seen in a while. When he asked the man what he was doing, the reply was frosty: “As you know, sir, I have been a judge of the Bombay High Court for the past six years.”
Hegde added that while a lesser man would have wilted, Nariman didn’t miss a beat.
“Of course I know,” he said. “I am only asking if you’re sitting on the original side or the appellate side.”
Even in formal settings, Nariman’s humour had a way of showing up. Mustafa shared a story about a visit to a university called KISS—an acronym for Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.
“While sitting next to me, he told me a story that many years ago, when he was speaking here, his wife had sent him a slip that said K.I.S.S,” Mustafa said. “It expanded to ‘Keep it Short’.”
With inputs from Lavanya Yadav.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)