Devanesh Sharma (born

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

1967) is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent. He was the president of the Fiji Law Society for one year. In his capacity as president of the law society, he made many comments on the proceedings of the interim Government, led by

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

, and how the society did not agree with what the interim regime was doing.

Early life

Sharma was born in Toorak, Suva. He attended Marist Brothers Primary School in Toorak and for his secondary education he attended

Marist Brothers High School Marist Brothers High School is a Roman Catholic all-boys' high school situated in Suva, the capital of Fiji. It is a school in the Marist tradition, founded in 1946 by the order of Marist Brothers, which has had a presence in Fiji since 1844. ...

. In school he played soccer and was a member of the school quiz and oratory teams and he also enjoys reading and writing. He later attended

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborate ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. After completing high school he attended

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

where he completed his law degree. Sharma was admitted to the bar in New Zealand in 1988 after he graduated from Victoria University. He returned to Fiji in 1992 and was admitted to the Fiji bar in 1993. He is one of the two partners in the law firm of R. Patel & Co. Sharma is one of the leaders of the Bar in Fiji and has distinguished himself in the civil and criminal jurisdictions. He recently successfully defended prominent human rights campaigner

Imrana Jalal Imrana Jalal, also known as Patricia Jalal is a Fijian lawyer and activist of Indian descent, born on June 3, 1960 in Suva, Fiji to Sayed Abdul Jalal and Rosemary Jalal. She served as a Human Rights Commissioner on the Fiji Human Rights Commissio ...

and her husband Ratu

Sakiusa Tuisolia Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia also known as Tu Saki is a Fijian chief from the province of Naitasiri, an economist and businessman, and a former civil servant who served for seven years as an economist with the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, t ...

against charges brought b y Fiji's Independent Commission against Corruption, an agency created after the 2006 coup.

2006 coup

On 9 September 2006, Sharma was elected to succeed

Graeme Leung Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer and former president of the Fiji Law Society. He was also chairman of the Electoral Commission (Fiji), Electoral Commission, and was named as judge advocate of a Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit Court Mar ...

as President of the Fiji Law Society. He strongly condemned the military coup that toppled the elected government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

on 5 December 2006, and criticized some of his fellow lawyers who supported or worked with the

Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about 4,000 active soldiers and approximately 6,000 reservists, it is one ...

. He dismissed as unconstitutional the swearing-in of Commodore Frank Bainimarama as Interim Prime Minister on 5 January 2007, but accepted the interim

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

sworn in on 8–9 January. Sharma did not seek re-election for the post of the President of the Fiji Law Society at the Annual General Meeting held on 28 September 2007.

References

1967 births Living people People from Suva Fijian Hindus People educated at Marist Brothers High School, Fiji People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Victoria University of Wellington alumni 20th-century Fijian lawyers 21st-century Fijian lawyers {{Law-bio-stub