10 Facts About The Most Famous Defense Lawyer of India

• Ram Jethmalani was referred to be the highest-paid and the best defence lawyer of the Indian judicial system
• Ram Jethmalani has often faced much criticism for taking up some controversial cases
• On 10th September 2017, Ram Jethmalani announced his retirement from the judicial profession

Ram Jethmalani is considered to be the Best Criminal Lawyer in India and he has left his mark in Constitutional Law by defending the reservation in Supreme Court, fighting against eminent lawyers.

Ram Boolchand Jethmalani is better known as Ram Jethmalani. He was born 14 September 1923. Ram Jethmalani with his family moved to Mumbai from Sind after Partition. Ram Jethmalani is a well-known Indian lawyer and politician. He is also referred to be the highest-paid lawyer in the Indian judicial system.

As Ram Jethmalani was a very bright student during his academic years, he obtained LL.B.degree at the age of 17and started practising law in his hometown until the partition of India. Due to partition, he moved to Mumbai as a refugee and he began his life afresh with his family. He has two sons and two daughters, of whom, Mahesh Jethmalani and Rani Jethmalani. Both of them are also well-known lawyers.

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Ram Jethmalani has often faced much criticism for acting as the defence lawyer and taking up some controversial cases like Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh who had been sentenced to death for the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He has dealt with many high profile cases of the country like that of Shiv Bal Thackrey, Haji Mastan, alleged killers of Rajiv and Indira Gandhi, Lal Krishna Advani, NTR Rao, Osho, Harshad Mehta and many more.

Ram Jethmalani drew a lot of storm when he took up the case of Afzal Guru, who was the prime convict in the 2001 Parliament attack. Ram Jethmalani demanded the commutation of his death sentence. He was even approached by Dawood Ibrahim in the 90s to fight for him in Indian Court. But the case wasn't taken up, as Ram Jethmalani wasn't able to fulfil Dawood's demand for no-arrest orders for him.

Ram Jethmalani was elected a member of parliament in the 6th and 7th Lok Sabha on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Mumbai. During the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he has served as Law Minister of India and also as Minister of Urban Development. Although, later he contested election against Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the general elections of 2004 from Lucknow constituency. In 2010, he again joined BJP and was elected to Rajya Sabha on its ticket from Rajasthan.

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Finally, on 10th September 2017, Ram Jethmalani announced his retirement from the judicial profession.

Check out some of the facts about the life of one of the exceptional criminal lawyer of India:

1. Ram Jethmalani has served as India's Union Law Minister and also the chairman of the Bar Council of India. Ram Jethmalani was elected as the president of Supreme Court Bar Association on 7 May 2010.
2. In 1971, Ram Jethmalani lost the general election he contested from Ulhsnagar (Maharashtra) as an independent candidate.
3. Ram Jethmalani is considered as one of the key members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party was founded on 6 April 1980.
4. Ram Jethmalani was an outstanding student in school and got a triple promotion when in school.
5. Ram Jethmalani persuaded the then Chief Justice of Sind to pass a special resolution to relax the rules of law practising age. At that time, the mandatory age for a lawyer to practice was 21 years.
6. In 1959, Ram Jethmalani's famous case of K.M. Nanavati vs. State of Bombay case was among the last cases to be heard as a jury trial in India, as the government abolished jury trials soon after.
7. Ram Jethmalani was expelled from BJP in 2013 for accusing the party of being "silent against high corruption".
8. Ram Jethmalani also launched his own party named 'Pavitra Hindustan Kazhagam', in 1995. The motto of his party was to achieve transparency in the functioning of Indian Democracy.
9. Ram Jethmalani was given Political Asylum by the USA during Emergency. He garnered the support from Western Countries towards Indira Gandhi's suppression of Personal Liberty during Emergency.
10. Not many people know but Ram Jethmalani contested the Presidential Election in 1992. Although, he withdrew his name from the candidature list and still he got 3k votes.