Beyond the Courtroom: Fali Nariman's legal legacy

Indian Express

25-04-2025

'The characteristic features of Indian culture have long been a search for ultimate verities and the concomitant disciple-guru relationship' – these are the first words of Autobiography of a Yogi written by Indian spiritual leader Paramahansa Yogananda, originally published in 1946.
Close to eight decades later, a manifestation of these very words came to public notice in the relationship between the late Fali S. Nariman, a towering figure in Indian Jurisprudence and Subhash Sharma, his trusted lieutenant for nearly 40 years.
In fact, Sharma had read out a 1952 speech of Yogananda to Nariman five hours before the eminent lawyer breathed his last on February 21 last year. 'I started crying after reading the speech…looking at me, Fali started weeping too,' Sharma told The Indian Express.
Months after his death, Sharma meticulously curated a book with a selection of Nariman's most influential speeches.
'Beyond the Courtroom' showcases the vast breadth and depth of Nariman's constitutional expertise through his illuminating lectures and articles. It even goes a step further outlining the jurists views on the state of Indian Democracy. From making arguments on why a new constitution is impossible today, to stating why a strong opposition is needed for the betterment of democracy, this book covers a wide range of subjects.
'The first lesson about written constitutions is that they don't function on their own. A special effort must be made by their custodians – those entrusted with their functioning – to work them,' reads a chapter titled 'The Silences in our Constitutional Law'.
This chapter stood out as it speaks about how the Silences of the constitution were interpreted and in turn its provisions broadened by the Judiciary. This reinterpretation, argued Nariman, has made the document a 'dynamic, living' one.
Nariman speaks about the evolution of Article 368 of the constitution (power of Parliament to amend constitution) to drive home the point of the dynamism of the constitution and bringing to the fore the tussle between the Parliament and the Judiciary.
He begins with how within a year of the constitution being brought into force, the Parliament passed the first amendment of the Constitution which dispensed with the payment of compensation for taking over large estates (zamindaries). Article 31A and 31B were introduced which provided that legislations for agrarian or land reforms were outside the protection of the fundamental right to property. 'Article 31 B was an innovation,' says Nariman, as it protected enactments included in the ninth schedule of the constitution from being declared void on the basis of infringement of fundamental rights.
In 1971, he points out, came more amendments, all meant to further limit the power of the constitution and increase that of the parliament by limiting which laws Courts could declare void if passed in contravention of fundamental rights.
Nariman traces the history of this tussle all the way to the Basic Structure Doctrine in 1973 where it was finally decided by a 13 judge bench held that the power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution couldn't alter its 'basic structure'. In the next chapter Nariman says: '…the only final interpreter of the Constitution is the judiciary' pointing out the active role that he feels judges must play in bringing life to the document.
Divided into five sections (Nation, Judiciary, Constitution, Law and Arbitration), the book also offers advice for young lawyers, tackles ethical questions and is sprinkled with quips throughout – usually towards the end of each chapter.
'Paramhansa used to think Mahatma Gandhi was a prophet…for me, Nariman was a prophet,' Sharma told The Indian Express. 'I've always felt this deep spiritual connection with him. I can't put a finger on it, but I always somehow felt close to him.'
Sharma is a well-known name in the legal circles and has been the devoted gatekeeper for Nariman's offices. As his junior since 1986, Sharma's name appears in virtually every case handled by Nariman. It was Sharma who would be the first point of contact for lawyers or litigants to Nariman's office since the veteran neither carried a cell phone nor directly accessed his email account.
Sharma considers it a stroke of serendipity that he got a chance to work with Nariman. After the book was published in early 2025, he kept a copy on the shrine of Yogananda – who was revered by both – in Forest Lawns, Los Angeles.