Shanti Bhushan (1925-2023) was an Indian politician, legal activist, and jurist who served as a senior counsel in the Supreme Court of India. Bhushan served as Law Minister of India in the Morarji Desai cabinet from 1977 to 1979. Shanti Bhushan passed away at her home in Delhi on January 31, 2023, after a brief illness.
Wiki/Biography
Shanti Bhushan was born on Wednesday, November 11, 1925 in Binor, United Provinces of British India (now Uttar Pradesh, India). She was 97 years old. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He is an alumnus of Ewing Christian College, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Shanti developed an early interest in law and reasoning and decided to pursue a career in law.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: brown
family
Parents and siblings
Shanti Bhushan’s father Vishwamitra was a prominent lawyer in the Allahabad High Court.
wife and children
Shanti Bhushan married Kumud Bhushan. He has two sons: Prashant Bhushan and Jayant Bhushan. Both of them are lawyers. He also has two daughters: Shalini Gupta and Shefali Bhushan.
Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan
Jayant Bhushan, son of Shanti Bhushan
Profession
lawyer
As a lawyer, Shanti Bhushan has defended clients in several major cases and has even acted in several public interest cases. With her analytical prowess, Shanti Bhushan has surprised many senior lawyers who are on the other side of legal battles. Bhushan often points to elements of honesty and simplicity in his analogies, which make his points coherent even to the layman. Shanti Bhushan is one of the highest-billing lawyers in the country, having started the trend of charging high fees even for public interest cases.
Well-known cases and customers
- Shanti Bhushan filed an election petition against the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, on behalf of veteran Samajwadi Party leader Raj Narain. Apparently, Raj Narain filed a petition against Indira Gandhi in the Allahabad High Court, alleging electoral fraud after she lost the Rae Bareilly election to Gandhi. Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha convicted Gandhi and declared her election to the Lok Sabha invalid. The court also disqualified her from running for six years. The verdict triggered a series of political crises in the country, culminating in the imposition of a state of emergency in India.
- In 1994, Shanti Bhushan defended two men accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.
- In 2002, Bhushan defended Arundhati Roy in a contempt case against her before the Supreme Court of India
- In 2008, he acted as counsel for Shaukat Hussain Guru in his appeal against his 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty in the 2001 attack on India’s parliament.
- In 2009, Bhushan represented Transparency International in the Uttar Pradesh Provident Fund (PF) scandal, allegedly involving several Indian judges. A three-judge bench comprising Justices BN Aggrawal, VS Sirpurkar and GS Singhvi abandoned the hearing in the case after making “contemptuous” remarks. The bench termed Bhushan’s behavior as that of a street urchin.
- He also filed a petition on behalf of former Prime Minister of India HD Deve Gowda regarding land allotment for the Bangalore-Mysore Expressway.
- Bhushan also appeared for Rajendra Singh Lodha in connection with the assets of Birla Corporation.
- In November 2010, Bhushan insisted that there was corruption in the Indian judiciary. He refused to apologize to the Supreme Court, saying he was willing to go to jail for contempt of court.
- In 2011, Shanti Bhushan acted as counsel for VS Achuthanandan in the Supreme Court corruption case against UDF leader R. Balakrishna Pillai.
- Shanti is also arguing a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking a court-supervised inquiry into the Rafale fighter jet deal.
politics
Shanti Bhushan entered politics as a member of the Indian National Congress (organization). He served as a member of the Bundestag from July 14, 1977 to April 2, 1980. After a brief tenure in the party, Shanti represented his client Raj Narain in the Allahabad High Court challenging Indira Gandhi’s electoral victory. After Bhushan won the case, Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the state. In 1977, the Indian National Congress (organization) merged with the People’s Party. After the emergency was lifted and the BJP came to power, Bhushan was appointed Law Minister of India in the Morarji Desai cabinet. He served until 1979. While in office, he introduced the 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, repealing many of the provisions introduced by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency. He is one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was established on April 6, 1980. Six years later, he resigned from the BJP after the party failed to adopt his suggestions on election petitions. In 2011, Bhushan joined the anti-corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare. He was one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012 and served as the mentor of the then fledgling party.
Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare
In 2013, relations between Bhushan and senior party leaders were tense as he opposed the decision to form a minority government with Congress support. However, their differences were resolved after Arvind Kejriwal decided to resign as chief minister after 49 days in Delhi. Bhushan paved the way for the Aam Aadmi Party to emerge on the national stage. In an interview, a former senior party member while talking about Bhushan’s role and responsibilities in AAP said,
He actively participated in all the important meetings initially held to discuss the party’s constitution and structure. He is a well-respected ace lawyer in the legal community and also provides guidance to the party on legal positions and issues related to the main anti-corruption line. “
Three years later, he quit the party.
Other work
In 2008, Shanti Bhushan wrote the book “Courting Destiny: A Memoir” in which he shared his life experiences. Subsequently, he also published the book “My Second Game”.
legal activism
Shanti Bhushan is an outspoken anti-corruption activist. In the 1980s, Bhushan, along with VM Tarkunde, Fali Sam Nariman, Anil Divan, Rajinder Sachar and Colin Gonsalves, founded the Center for Public Interest Litigation, an NGO that litigated matters of public interest. He was actively involved in promoting accountability in the Indian judiciary through the establishment of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Judicial Reform (CJAR). In 2018, Bhushan filed a plea in the Supreme Court of India challenging the Chief Justice of India’s roster practice of allocating cases. In its judgment, the court held that the Chief Justice of India is the “master of the roll” and has the prerogative and power to allocate cases to different judges of the Supreme Court.
die
Shanti Bhushan passed away at her home in Delhi due to age-related illnesses at around 7 pm on January 31, 2023. He was 97 years old. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned his death on Twitter and wrote:
Shri Shanti Bhushan Ji will be remembered for his contribution to the legal field and passion for advocating for the underprivileged. Sad for his passing. Condolences to his family. Om Shanti. “
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also expressed condolences on the death of Bhushan. He tweeted,
My deepest condolences to his family on his passing. I pray for the departed souls. Om Shanti. “
Facts/Trivia
- Shanti Bhushan is undoubtedly one of the tallest lawyers in Allahabad.
- Apparently, Shanti Bhushan donated Rs. On the day of the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, a donation of Rs 1 Crore was made to the party.
- Known for his punctual and empathetic arguments, Bhushan was never afraid to speak his mind. According to one of his colleagues, he could even take on judges, who paid special attention to his arguments.
- According to one of his fellow practitioners, Bhushan once compiled a list of “corrupt judges” and submitted it to the Supreme Court.
- His parents reportedly named him Shanti (Peace) because the day he was born commemorated the end of World War I.
- Shanti Bhushan was appointed as a judge by the Allahabad High Court at the age of 37. Although he accepted the offer, he could not become a judge as the then Chief Justice of India PB Gajendragadkar raised the minimum age limit to 40 years for the post of High Court judge. After the age of 40, he was appointed twice as a judge. However, Bhushan refused.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education