H m seervai biography channel

By the early s, Seervai was in demand at the Bar. His moment arrived when it fell upon him to defend the Bombay Prohibition Act. His closing speech in defence of the law was truly outstanding, and therefore earned him the admiration of the government. His first appearance before the Supreme Court of India arose in a defence of the Government of Bombay's decision to ban prize competitions, in the nature of lotteries.

Seervai's arguments were well received. The judgments and orders of the Bombay courts were unanimously set aside with costs by the top court. A year later, Seervai began his service of seventeen years as Advocate General. Holding that office, he was destined to argue many of the leading trials and appeals of the State and the nation. Seervai served as Advocate General of Bombay from to and Maharashtra from until his resignation in Seervai was not only a brilliant lawyer, but also a courageous advocate.

He was fearless and did not hesitate to lock horns with a judge who he thought was partial or unethical. This fearlessness was seen in his performance in the Parliamentary Privileges Case in the Supreme Court in It is believed that he was specifically selected to argue on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, in a contest between the Legislature and the Judiciary, because only a man of his courage would be able to tell the judges that they did not have powers over the privileges of the Legislatures.

True to his reputation, he did so without hesitation. Seervai had the intellectual courage to change his view. He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in In , the British Academy elected Seervai its Corresponding Fellow, a distinction reserved for scholars of the highest academic distinction. That same year, he was awarded the Dadabhai Naoroji Prize.

He was offered judgeship of the Supreme Court not once, but twice. Each time he declined it. In , the Government of India offered to appoint him Attorney General. Seervai refused as he felt that the best contribution that he could make to the law was not to appear in Court, but to "embody in successive editions of his book the correct judicial interpretation of the Constitution.

Tripathi come near even for comparison with Seervai's work. His Constitutional Law of India ranks in the superior company of all quality writing on the topic of Constitutional Law and certainly excels all others on Indian Constitution. His writings today remain relevant as ever. On January 26, , HM Seervai died at the age of With his death, India lost one of its greatest jurists.

It is often said that Seervai the man was greater than Seervai the lawyer. But the two characters were inextricably mixed, making him the most respected person in law and giving him that indefinable eminence over several lawyers of his day who were reputed to be clever and more astute than he was. And perhaps that is the greatest legacy that a person can leave behind; for Seervai is not only remembered for the work he did, but also for who he was.

The author is an aspiring litigator, researcher, and writer from Mumbai. He is currently pursuing his LL. You can follow him on Twitter hamzamlakdawala. HM Seervai: Jurist par excellence. His first chance in the Supreme Court of India arose in a defence of the Government of Bombay's decision to ban prize competitions, in the nature of lotteries.

Seervai's argument was rewarded with spectacular success. The judgments and orders of the Bombay courts were unanimously set aside with costs. Those who are familiar with the legal profession know that his 3 volume work on Constitutional Law is the finest work on the subject and if an Indian advocate is well versed in it, he is automatically considered worthy of respect.

Seervai was a man above all dedicated to truth and justice. This is precisely why he earned the respect of his colleagues, clients and readers alike. In many respects, Seervai, the man, was greater than Seervai, the lawyer, but the two characters were inextricably mixed, making him the most respected person in law and giving him that indefinable eminence over several lawyers of his day who were reputed to be clever and more astute than he was.

Seervai is best known for his analysis, the Constitutional Law of India — a Critical Commentary. This work contributed significantly to Kesavananda Bharati vs. The State of Kerala , his most famous case, which led to the development of the " Basic structure doctrine", which inhibits politically motivated changes to the Constitution of India. Perhaps, its full repercussions have not yet completely been understood, and it is the defining and distinguishing part of democracy under the written constitution vs.

The decision established that a legislature, elected for the legislative process, does not have the ability to amend the basic structure of the constitution.

H m seervai biography channel

That in itself indicates a departure from the British Westminster democracy, where the unwritten constitution can be amended at will by the British parliament, which is the ultimate sovereign. The Indian Parliament, however, cannot change the basic structure of the Indian constitution and the same principle is championed in later cases by the Supreme Court of India.

Seervai's impact on defining the limits of parliamentary sovereignty and in declaring the constitution supreme has been great for the entire subcontinent and today it has become an accepted principle that has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as well. Recognition of his eminence came in many ways. He was offered judgeship of the Supreme Court twice.

Each time he declined it. He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in In , the British Academy elected Seervai its Corresponding Fellow, a distinction reserved for scholars of the highest academic distinction. Also in , he was awarded the Dadabhai Naoroji Prize. Lord Denning, the doyen of all judges said, "He was a great personality and one of the most learned I have met.

Declining the office with thanks, he wrote in his own hand to the Law Minister that the best contribution that he could make to the law was not to appear in Court but to "embody in successive editions of his book the correct judicial interpretation of the Constitution". One cannot think of any lawyer in the world declining such a high office for the sake of writing a scholarly thesis.

He argued that it was the latent bias on the part of Indian National Congress leadership which resulted in partition. It is a painstakingly accurate exercise of sifting through the Transfer of Power Papers, apart from dozens of other books on the subject of Partition, after which like a true jurist, Mr. Seervai has given his verdict and it is an interesting verdict but also a journey towards discovering the truth.

The journey, Seervai says, started for Rajmohan Gandhi with his fascinating inquiry into the life of Mahomed Ali Jinnah in which the author did not shy away from criticising his famous grandfather, Mohandas Gandhi, for introducing religion into politics and for refusing to accommodate the Muslims to share power. Rajmohan Gandhi's thesis was considerably developed by Seervai, whose in-depth research and study on the subject came to the conclusion that Congress, rather than Jinnah, was primarily responsible for Partition by not accepting parity for Hindus and Muslims and other safeguards for Muslim interests.

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Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. Early life and education [ edit ]. As a lawyer [ edit ]. Achievements and awards [ edit ]. Books on Seervai [ edit ]. Books by Seervai [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Universal Law Publishing. ISBN Retrieved 16 September