
Senior advocate and one of India’s most prominent lawyers Iqbal M Chagla, expired on Sunday in Mumbai at the age of 85. I M Chagla’s contributions to the legal arena were most commendable with his legacy carving a permanent niche. Chagla’s death has left a void in the legal fraternity which is difficult to substitute.
He served as a role model for countless legal professionals. His life work epitomised human rights and protection of the rule of law. Chagla championed erudition and ethics in legal practice till his last breath. Chagla was a living example of integrity and secular spirit, with our current judiciary being plagued by corruption and Saffron Communalism.
Chagla’s barritone, politeness and languidity of language, left a permanent imprint in the judicial circles.
Early Life
Born on March 7th, 1939, Chagla was the son of M C Chagla, the first permanent Indian Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from 1948-58. Having completed his Master’s degree in History and Law from Cambridge University, Chagla returned to then Bombay to practice in the Bombay High Court. He practiced and flourished as a senior advocate. At an early age of 39 he was later offered the prestigious position of judge in the High Court and in the Supreme Court Still he refused it, denying himself to being elevated to the position of the Chief Justice of India.
Chagla led the Bombay Bar Association with rock-like tenacity., one of the oldest in the country of practicing lawyers, for terms from 1990 to 1999.
Campaigner for Secularism and Social causes
As president of the Bombay Bar Association, he took some very bold stands. When the Justice Srikrishna Commission was instated after the 1992-93 Bombay riots, he played a lead role as the president of the Association, convinced that it should assist the commission to locate the truth. The Association had filed affidavits on behalf of some of the victims. This was rooted in his personal adherence to the values of secularism; and commitment to the secular values of the Constitution. He appeared in the Dawoodi Bohra sect (dispute) until a few months ago.
Batlle against Corruption in Judiciary
He was popular as much for his legal acumen as for his tenure as President of Bombay Bar Association, where he waged a battle against corruption in the judiciary in the 1990s, with resolutions passed against six sitting judges, even leading to their resignations.
The Association always maintained it’s independence and was reputed to wage struggles to fight for the right causes, due to work of lawyers like Chagla..Iqbal Chagla personally functioned as a petitioner in matters before the Supreme Court where the judges of various high courts were being transferred unjustly. In almost every important matter, he adopted correct and courageous decisions, never afraid of any intimidatory powers, which manifested true tradition and standard of the Bar. Iqbal set that standard,” said Dada, who was vice-president of the Bar Association during some years of Chagla’s tenure.
In 1990, with relentless courage he moved resolutions against five sitting judges of the Bombay High Court, repudiating their integrity and calling for their resignation. Inspite of being warned by friends that this constituted clear criminal contempt and under the extant law, he refused to buckle down and defiantly withstood all opposition. It led to a judge resigning, two being transferred and two were denied any further judicial work.
Chagla five years later, had to move another resolution, this time against a sitting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, calling for his resignation on grounds of corruption. This forced the judge to subsequently resign.
Harsh Thakor is freelance journalist. Chagla was very close friend or legal associate of my late father Sandip Thakor, who was also a practicing lawyer in Bombay High Court.