The feisty and fearless

Malladi Rama Rao

By the time I met him as a reporter in Lutyen’s Delhi, Ram Jethmalani had established himself as a towering, intimidating personality. What struck me was his disarming smile, and his ability not to stand fools. These are contradictory stands rarely found in public figures, who, like him, moulded themselves as crusaders.

Ram Jethmalani From underworld don Haji Mastan to MISA detenues and from Lalu Prasad Yadav (Fodder scam), L K Advani (Jain Hawala case), Bal Thackeray (hate speech) Amit Shah (Sohrabuddin case), Subrata Roy (Sahara case), Ansals (Uphar tragedy) and Asaram Bapu (Sexual assault case) to the loquacious Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (defamation case),Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy (money laundering case) Mohammad Shahabuddin (murder case) and the Gujarat government (2002 riots cases), the client list of Ram Jethmalani was impressive ‘who-is-who’ of troubled world.
This doyen of criminal law and Indian jurisprudence with deep roots in Shikarpur (near the right bank of mighty Indus in the Sindh Province) of today’s Pakistan, remained true to his well-earned sobriquets – Maverick, Unchanged, and Unrepentant all through his eventful life. At times he roared like a lion.

Always dared to go against the tide with courage, eloquence and determination.He endeared himself to friends and foes alike with his wit as also simple demeanour hidden behind a tough exterior.And annoyed the likes of Morarji Desai with the quip: “You stick to your pissky and I’ll stick to my whisky.’’

Friendship and enmity for him were traits that had no long shelf life as many BJP leaders, including Narendra Modi, had learnt the hard way.Helping the needy was an integral part of his persona with no concern for party labels or social strictures or even media trial. Frankly, he never allowed political allegiance to compromise his values. Controversy, therefore, neither left him, nor intimidated him.And he was in and out of the BJP, which once expelled him.

Jethmalani took on Vajpayee in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow. He launched his own front Bharat Mukti Morcha, as a "mass movement" in 1987, and floated in 1995, his own party,Pavitra Hindustan Kazhagam, to achieve "transparency in functioning of Indian democracy".

By the time I met him as a reporter in Lutyen’s Delhi, Ram Jethmalani had established himself as a towering, intimidating personality. What struck me was his disarming smile, and his ability not to stand fools. These are contradictory stands rarely found in public figures, who, like him, moulded themselves as crusaders. This is probably reason for his short stint in the government, though leaking roofs put the blame on a contemporary jurist’s better equations in the power corridors.

He had held law and Urban Development portfolios in the Vajpayee government. His press conferences at the Nirman Bhavan often held after sun set were classes on legalese and expressions like ‘Speaking Order’ to the annoyance of officials and dismay of journos.

Most of us found Ram Jethmalani in his elements while ‘establishing’ that his client Harshad Mehta, the prime accused in the first security scam, had indeed paid Rs 1 crore in a suit case as bribe to Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.How could one stuff one crore rupees in a suit case? With great flourish, he demonstrated how his client had accomplished the feat.

No surprise, he was the most sought after top criminal legal eaglewho had graduated as a lawyer at 17 (in 1941)from S.C. Shahani Law College (Karachi) and won cases even as a budding lawyer against the formidable Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi.

Partition forced the Jethmalani family to leave Pakistan and become refugees in Bombay with “only a one paisa coin in his pocket.”Life in a squalid refugee camp, he said years later,made him to resolve to be never poor again. He did not run after money even in those early days but took up brief for whoever needed - criminals, robbers, and dacoits including. The Indira era saw him become the smugglers’ lawyer.“When I see a man come into my office with his pockets bulging with smuggling money, I consider it my duty to relieve him of his wealth”, he remarked once in jest. According to his biographer, 90 per cent of his cases were pro bono (without charge, free) but in the remaining 10 per cent he made a fortune by defending the rich and the powerful.

Jethmalani’s electoral innings started in 1971. In the first round he lost from Ulhasnagar despite the support of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor of the BJP. His opposition to father-daughter politics, policies and planks made him friendly to the Parivar. Indira Gandhi’s emergency tryst pushed him to the dog house, and made him an exile in the United States, like friend -foe –friend Subramanian Swamy. Post-emergency wave kick started his parliamentary innings in 1977 from the Bombay North West. He had a long stint in the Rajya Sabha- some eight terms by rough count.He used to speak on several issues, social issues including.His point of view was always different as he found a different dimension to every issue. It was a treat to listen to him.

As a lawyer, Jethmalani had a strong impact on the judiciary. According to senior advocate Vivek Tankha,“His presence in the Supreme Court was always a pleasure to watch, with his dramatic and characteristic style often resulting in pin drop silence, as both judges and the other lawyers present would listen, captivated.”

Feisty, ebullient, fearless, outspoken to a fault, uncaring of consequences or of societal norms, Ram had a large heart and a restive temperament,”as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress leader and senior lawyer, said in a tweet.“Always a crusader, his mind and body remained good almost to the end.”

He appeared in many high-profile cases, some of which are still referred for teaching tricks of the trade to budding law students.For him, the courtroom was a stage and he was an actor. He bought empathy and passion to every case he fought. “His way of framing an argument and presenting it was magical.”

Once a Judge asked him in lighter vein if he still went to pubs and bars at his age, prompt came the reply:

“My Lord, what you see of me now is late eighties. Let me tell you the truth, some part of me is still sixty, some part thirty, and some part is still eighteen.” The entire court burst out in laughter.

He received several awards. He was decorated with International Jurist Award and Human Rights Award by World Peace Through Law.

Ram, as he was known among seniors and juniors alike, was also a great teacher.As Chairman of the Bar Council of India, he was instrumental in setting up the National Law School of India University (NLS), Bangalore, India’s first five-year legal programme.

K. Mahesh, an IAS officer, who worked with Ram Jethmalani when he was a minister, has an interesting take. “He was one of the most distinguished teachers of law this country has ever seen and an eminent jurist who developed the law.”He considers him as the “Professor of Professors.”

During the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Jethmalani jumped out of a car to stand in front of a violent mob to save people.

Feisty, ebullient, fearless, outspoken to a fault, uncaring of consequences or of societal norms, Ram had a large heart and a restive temperament,”as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress leader and senior lawyer, said in a tweet.“Always a crusader, his mind and body remained good almost to the end.”

Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (born 14 September 1923) passed into history at 7.45 am on the eighth day of the ninth month of 2019,six days short of his 96th birthday. He was bed-ridden for a week at his official residence in New Delhi. He married Durga when he was around 18 years old. It was an arranged marriage. Just before partition in 1947, he married Ratna Shahani, a lawyer by profession. The Jethmalanis had four children –Rani, Shobha, Mahesh and Janak. Mahesh is practising in the Supreme Court.