Ram Jethmalani

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ram Jethmalani

• Ram Jethmalani was a prominent Indian advocate and politician. He had served in positions such as the Minister of Law & Justice, Minister of Urban Development, Chairman of the Bar Council of India, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and many more.

• During his childhood, his father wanted him to become an engineer, but he wanted to pursue law as a career. He was inspired by his grandfather and father, who were lawyers too.

• He was a very bright student, and he got a double promotion because due to his intelligence. This made him complete his matriculation at the age of 13.

• He had completed his law degree at the age of 17.

  

• At the time, the minimum age of becoming a lawyer was 21. A special resolution was passed for him, which allowed him to complete his degree at the age of  18.

• Even though he obtained a law degree, he was not allowed to practice law; as the minimum age to appear in a court as a lawyer was 21. He appealed the issue to the legal system, and upon review, he was appointed as a practising lawyer at the age of 18.

  

• He had started his law firm in Karachi with his senior friend A.K. Brohi. His first client was a distressed landlord, and he charged him 1 INR for the case.

• In 1948, when riots broke out in Karachi, Brohi advised him to leave Pakistan for security reason. Once, in an interview, he stated that leaving everything was very traumatic for him.

• He came to India as a refugee, and he settled in refugee camps in Bombay. Although he had a law degree and six years of practice, he had to qualify from the Bombay University again.
  

• In 1954, Jethmalani became a part-time professor at Government Law College and he used to teach graduate and post-graduate students.

• He served as a Chairman of Bar Association of India for 4 tenures both before and after the Emergency period.
  

• He was known for speaking frankly, and he had proved it several times. In 2011, at a reception hosted by the Pakistan High Commission for the Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, and in the presence of Chinese ambassador, Jethmalani called China an enemy of both India and Pakistan.

• Even at the age of 95, he used to maintain his health by playing Badminton regularly.