P. N. Bhagwati
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Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (21 December 1921 – 15 June 2017) was the 17th
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...
, serving from 12 July 1985 until his retirement on 20 December 1986. He introduced the concepts of
public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...
and absolute liability in India, and for this reason is held, along with Justice
V. R. Krishna Iyer Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Krishna Iyer (15 November 1915 – 4 December 2014) was an Indian judge who became a pioneer of judicial activism. He pioneered the legal-aid movement in the country. Before that, he was a state minister and poli ...
, to be a pioneer of
judicial activism Judicial activism is a judicial philosophy holding that the courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider broader societal implications of its decisions. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The term usually ...
in the country. He is the longest served supreme court judge (including Chief Justice to tenure) in India.


Early and personal life

P. N. Bhagwati was born in
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. His father was Justice Natwarlal H. Bhagwati, a Supreme Court judge. He was the elder brother of the economist Jagdish Bhagwati and the neurosurgeon/president of the
Neurological Society of India The Neurological Society of India (NSI) is the apex body representing neuroscientists of the country. It was founded in 1951 by Jacob Chandy, Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi, S. T. Narasimhan, and Baldev Singh, who together have been credited to be p ...
S. N. Bhagwati - father of economist Ketki Bhagwati. He was married to Prabhavati (née Shethji) and the couple have three daughters, Parul, Pallavi, and Sonali. Pallavi is currently the managing partner of leading Indian law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and is married to Shardul S. Shroff. Bhagwati was a devotee of the popular Indian guru
Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 192624 April 2011) was an Indian guru. At the age of fourteen he claimed that he was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, and left his home to serve his devotees. Sai Baba's ...
, and was also a member of Sathya Sai Trust till his death. Bhagwati received his education in Mumbai. He studied at
Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...
, taking a Mathematics (Hons.) degree from
Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...
in 1941. In 1942, he courted arrest during the
Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...
and went underground for four months. He later received a law degree from
Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...
after studying at
Government Law College, Bombay The Government Law College, Mumbai, (GLC Mumbai), founded in 1855, is the one of the oldest law schools in Asia. The college, affiliated to the University of Mumbai, is run by the Government of Maharashtra. Bal Gangadhar Tilak ,Pratibha Pa ...
.


Career

Bhagwati began his career practicing at the Bombay High Court. In July 1960, he was appointed a judge of the
Gujarat High Court The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State. The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. The pre ...
. In September 1967, he was appointed the Chief Justice of that court. On two occasions, he acted temporarily as
Governor of Gujarat The governor of Gujarat Is a nominal head and representative of the president of india In the state of Gujarat. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years and resides in Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Acharya Devvrat took ...
(7 December 1967 to 25 December 1967 and 17 March 1973 to 3 April 1973). In July 1973, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. In August 1985, he became Chief Justice of India. As a supreme court judge, Bhagwati introduced the concepts of
public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...
and absolute liability to the Indian judicial system. He is therefore held, along with Justice
V. R. Krishna Iyer Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Krishna Iyer (15 November 1915 – 4 December 2014) was an Indian judge who became a pioneer of judicial activism. He pioneered the legal-aid movement in the country. Before that, he was a state minister and poli ...
, to have pioneered
judicial activism Judicial activism is a judicial philosophy holding that the courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider broader societal implications of its decisions. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The term usually ...
in the country. In 2007 Bhagwati was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...
in public affairs, India's second highest civilian award.


Judgements


''Habeas corpus'' case controversy

A controversial judgment of Bhagwati was in the '' ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla'' case (popularly referred to as the ''ADM Jabalpur case'' or the ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
'' case) where he decreed that during the Emergency of 1975 to 1977, a person's right to not be unlawfully detained (i.e. ''habeas corpus'') can be suspended. This judgment received a lot of criticism since it reduced the importance attached to
Fundamental Rights Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...
under the
Indian Constitution The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
. Going against the previous decision of High Courts, the bench which included Bhagwati concluded in favour of the then Indira Gandhi government while only Justice
Hans Raj Khanna Hans Raj Khanna (3 July 1912 – 25 February 2008) was an Indian judge, jurist and advocate who propounded the basic structure doctrine in 1973 and attempted to uphold civil liberties during the time of Emergency in India in a lone dissenting ...
was opposed to it. Bhagwati openly praised Indira Gandhi during the Emergency period, later criticized her when Janata Party-led government was formed and again backed Gandhi when she got re-elected to form government in 1980. Bhagwati was criticized for these change of stands, favouring the ruling government, which were deemed as to have been taken to better his career prospects. Bhagwati later in 2011 agreed with popular opinion that this judgement was short-sighted and "apologised".


''Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India''

Maneka Gandhi Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; ''née'' Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist. She is a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament and a member of ...
was requested, through an official letter from the Regional Passport Officer, Delhi on 2 July 1977 to return her passport within seven days "in public interest" under section 10(3) of The Passports Act (1967). Gandhi, who had been issued Indian passport on 1 June 1976, in return asked the office to give statement of reason in accordance with section 10(5) to which the office replied that "in the interest of general public" the Government had decided to not furnish any such statement further. Under Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
, which deals with Right to Freedom, Gandhi filed a writ petition in which Bhagwati and Justice
V. R. Krishna Iyer Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Krishna Iyer (15 November 1915 – 4 December 2014) was an Indian judge who became a pioneer of judicial activism. He pioneered the legal-aid movement in the country. Before that, he was a state minister and poli ...
ruled in favour of Gandhi.


Other activities

In 1982, Bhagwati was elected a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
while being affiliated with the
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He had been a member of the
United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per ...
from 1995 to 2009, being re-elected after every two years on expiry of his term. He was also chairman of the committee in 2001-03. , he had also served as a member of the Committee of Experts of the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
for over 27 years. He was appointed Chancellor of
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning is a ''deemed-to-be-University'' located in Sri Sathya Sai District, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was founded by Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 22 November 1981. There are four campuses of the university, three ...
on 6 May 2011.


Death

Justice Bhagwati died on 15 June 2017 at the age of 95 after brief illness at his home in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
. His funeral was held on 17 June. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
condoled his death calling him "stalwart of India's legal fraternity".


References


External links


P. N. Bhagwati, Brief biography
at Supreme Court of India {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagwati, P. N. 1921 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Indian judges 20th-century Indian lawyers Chief justices of India Elphinstone College alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Governors of Gujarat Judges of the Gujarat High Court People from Gujarat Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs United Nations Human Rights Committee members University of Mumbai alumni Indian officials of the United Nations Followers of Sathya Sai Baba