Nariman Kairshasp Choksy, was Ceylonese lawyer and judge. He was an acting Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. Choksy was born in Ceylon to a Bombay

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

family that had migrated to Colombo from

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

, North of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, in the year 1885 to manage an established business house in the

Coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

industry at Colombo. He became a

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

in 1917 and in 1923, qualifed as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and established a lucrative practice on the civil law, first in the original courts and thereafter in the appelant courts. He was appointed a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1947 and appointed as an acting Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court in 1951. He was the Chairman of the Land Acquisition Board of Review from 1950 to 1960 and served as the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry in to Local Government in Ceylon, which published the ''The Choksy Report'' that was used as a refence for advocating more powers and facilities to local government bodies and which first identified the need for the establishment of a

National Library of Sri Lanka National Library of Sri Lanka is a research and a reference library and the main library and information centre in Sri Lanka. It is located on Independence Avenue, Colombo. History The idea of a National Library for Sri Lanka initially emerge ...

. He was the Chairman of Hentley Garments Limited, a director of the Ceylon Glass Factory and President of the Income Tax Payers' Association of Ceylon. Choksy became the first Parsi to become an advocate and a King's Counsel in Ceylon. He found himself to be a

stateless person Stateless may refer to: Society * Anarchism, a political philosophy opposed to the institution of the state * Stateless communism, which Karl Marx predicted would be the final phase of communism * Stateless nation, a group of people without a ...

in 1948 with the enactment of the

Ceylon Citizenship Act The Ceylon Citizenship Act No. 18 of 1948 was a controversial law passed by the Ceylon Parliament which did not grant citizenship to Indian Tamils, who were 11% of the population. Background During the 19th and early 20th centuries the British ...

. He was granted Ceylonese citizenship on 1950 as a Distinguished Citizen under the provisions of the Act No 40 of 1950. His son

K. N. Choksy Kairshasp Nariman Choksy, PC, MP (7 February 1933 – 5 February 2015) (known as ''K. N. Choksy'') was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was Cabinet Minister of Finance under Prime Minis ...

became the Minister of Finance after a successful legal career, followed by his grandson

Vishtasp Kairshasp Choksy Vishtasp Kairshasp Choksy (born 22 December 1969) (known as ''V.K Choksy'') is a Sri Lankan Lawyer and advisor. He is a Civil Lawyer and appointed President's Counsel. Choksy belongs to an influential family and is the son of politician and law ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choksy, Nariman Kairshasp Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Ceylon People from British Ceylon Ceylonese advocates Ceylonese Queen's Counsel Sri Lankan people of Parsi descent Sri Lankan Zoroastrians Sri Lankan people of Indian descent 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers