Ram Jethmalani

Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (14 September 1923 – 8 September 2019) was an Indian lawyer and politician. He served as India's Minister of Law and Justice, as chairman of the Bar Council of India, and as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Jethmalani obtained his LL.B degree at the age of 17 and started practising law in his hometown, Shikarpur, until the Partition of India. The partition led him to move to Mumbai as a refugee where he began his life and career afresh. He announced his retirement from judicial profession in 2017. Throughout his political career, Jethmalani worked for improving the relations between India and Pakistan, owing to his experiences as a refugee post-partition. He was elected as member of the Lok Sabha twice, contensting from Janata Party, from the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency. He also served as the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs in the first Atal Bihari Vajpayee ministry, against whom he later contested election in the 2004 Indian general elections from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency. He later returned to BJP in 2010, and was elected to the Rajya Sabha on its ticket. Jethmalani was awarded the Human Rights Award by World Peace Through Law in 1977. He authored books such as Big Egos, Small Men; Conscience of a Maverick; and Maverick: Unchanged, Unrepentant; among others. He also co-authored legal scholarly books on different fields of law.