Legal Stalwart, former Union Minister, Ram Jethmalani passed away at the age of 95 after suffering from prolonged illness. The Veteran Lawyer had been suffering from months and was under medical supervision round the clock for the past two weeks, The Times of India reported.

Noted Lawyer Ram Jethmalani had announced his decision to quit his law practice at a function organised by the Bar Council of India to felicitate India’s new Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

One of the finest legal luminary and one of the India’s Senior most Supreme Court Lawyers Ram Jethmalani called the Governance ‘calamity’ at his retirement and had mentioned that he will combat corrupt politicians.

Here are some of the most controversial cases that he took up:

His first noticeable case was in 1959 when he was the public prosecutor in the K M Nanavati case vs State of Maharashtra case where Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati, a Naval Commander, was tried for the murder of Prem Ahuja, his wife’s lover. The incident received unprecedented media coverage and inspired several books and movies.

Represented Convicted killers of former prime ministers 

• Ram Jethmalani defended Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh, who were sentenced to death for the assassination of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi which happened in 1984.
• He also defended the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict, the LTTE militants, V Sriharan (also known as Murugan). In 2015, he made a controversial statement that the suicide bomb attack on the former prime minister that also killed 18 other lives was ‘not a crime against India’, as reported by The Times of India.

Corruption cases and scams

Jethmalani has represented several ministers, leaders and politicians from various political parties in the matters relating to corruption and scams.

Stock Market Scam

He also represented Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh in stock market scams.

LK Advani in Hawala scam

He represented senior BJP leader Sh. L. K. Advani in Hawala scam of the early nineties in which illegal payments were sent by politicians to Hawala brokers. In 2015, Jethmalani mentioned in a public statement that it was only because of him that Advani won the case.

Lalu Prasad Fodder scam

Jethmalani represented RJD chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav who was involved in the 900 crore fodder scam which broke out in the year 1996.

Jayalalithaa – disproportionate assets

He appeared for former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s disproportionate assets case worth Rs 66.65 crore in the year 2014.

Kanimozhi – 2G scam

He appeared for former Tamil Nadu chief minister Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi who allegedly paid Rs. 214-crore bribe in the 2G spectrum case.

BS Yeddyurapppa – Illegal mining case

The former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa along with 12 other accused were represented by Jethmalani in an illegal mining case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Smuggler Haji Mastan

He has appeared for Mumbai-based underworld don Haji Mastan in several cases of smuggling.

Amit Shah – Sohrabuddin encounter case

The senior lawyer represented former Gujarat home minister and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the alleged Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounters that took place in the year 2006.

Afzal Guru -Parliament attack

He argued for 2001 Parliament attack convict Mohd Afzal Guru demanding the commutation of his death sentence. He even accused the government of not allowing him to get a lawyer of his choice and said that Guru didn’t get a fair trial.

Asaram Bapu rape case

He represented self-styled godman Asaram Bapu in a rape case involving a minor girl in Jodhpur in the year 2013.

Jessica Lal murder Case

The noted lawyer defended Haryana Congress leader Vinod Sharma’s son Manu Sharma who shot dead Jessica Lal, a bartender who refused him a drink in the year 1999.

Arvind Kejriwal vs Arun Jaitley defamation case

He defended Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in defamation case filed by union minister Arun Jaitley. At first, he said that he will fight his case for free but later he asked for a bill of Rs 3.42 crore.

Among other achievements, Jethmalani was elected as a BJP MP in the sixth and seventh Lok Sabha. Apart from Union Law Minister, he also held the portfolio of urban development in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.

“I decide according to my conscience who to defend. A lawyer who refuses to defend a person on the ground that people believe him to be guilty is himself guilty of professional misconduct,” Jethmalani had once told CNN-IBN in an interview.

Many have described Jethmalani’s death as a loss for the legal fraternity as he was one most respected lawyer in the country.

Author: Aashna Suri & Sayesha Suri