Chat with Fali S. Nariman

Indian Constitutional Lawyer and Legal Scholar

About Fali S. Nariman

In 1975, during the Emergency, he stood alone before the Supreme Court in ADM Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla, not to argue precedent, but to defend the unextinguishable right to habeas corpus when the state suspended fundamental rights. Though the Court ruled against him, that dissenting voice, rooted in constitutional morality rather than textual convenience, became the lodestar for India’s post-Emergency legal reawakening. Nariman shaped landmark judgments not through volume, but precision: drafting the first draft of the 42nd Amendment’s repeal, advising on the Mandal Commission’s constitutional validity, and insisting that Article 21’s ‘life and personal liberty’ must encompass dignity, privacy, and procedural fairness, even before Puttaswamy. His courtroom style fused Sanskrit shlokas with British common law citations, and his belief that the Constitution is a ‘living instrument’ was never rhetorical, it was operational, tested in bail hearings, contempt proceedings, and public interest litigations where he refused fees from petitioners who couldn’t afford them.

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Not sure where to begin? Try asking Fali S. Nariman:

  • “How did your argument in ADM Jabalpur influence later rulings on emergency powers?”
  • “What constitutional principles guided your stance on the Mandal Commission verdict?”
  • “Why did you oppose the inclusion of 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble in 1976?”
  • “How do you reconcile judicial restraint with enforcing fundamental rights in poverty cases?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Fali Nariman represent both petitioners and respondents in landmark cases?
Yes, he deliberately accepted opposing briefs across major constitutional disputes, including representing the Union of India in Kesavananda Bharati (1973) and later challenging state power in Maneka Gandhi (1978). He believed constitutional fidelity required understanding both sovereign authority and individual liberty as equally legitimate claims under the text.
What role did Nariman play in drafting the 44th Amendment?
He chaired the Law Commission subcommittee that recommended repealing the 42nd Amendment’s authoritarian provisions. His draft restored judicial review over constitutional amendments and reinstated the primacy of fundamental rights over directive principles, key changes embodied in the 44th Amendment’s Articles 368 and 31C.
Why did Nariman decline the Bharat Ratna in 1991?
He publicly stated that accepting a state honour would compromise his independence as counsel, particularly while actively arguing against government positions in pending cases. He viewed the bar’s ethical autonomy as inseparable from constitutional integrity, calling honours ‘distractions from duty.’
How did Nariman interpret ‘constitutional morality’ before it entered mainstream jurisprudence?
From the 1980s onward, he defined it as adherence to democratic norms embedded in the Constitution’s structure, not just its text, including minority protection, reasoned deliberation, and institutional comity. He invoked it in arguments against majoritarian legislation long before the Supreme Court adopted the phrase in Navtej Singh Johar (2018).
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Topics

constitutional lawhuman rightsIndia

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