Alumni of Government Law College in Mumbai.

Alumni of Government Law College in Mumbai.

In this series, we will discuss the Alumni of famous law colleges in India. The first one in the series is Government Law College in Mumbai which has produced some of the most famous jurists that India has ever seen.

1.  Soli Sorabjee

Soli Sorabjee pursued his studies in law from Government Law College, Mumbai and was admitted to the bar in 1953. At his law school, Sorabjee was awarded the Kinloch Forbes Gold Medal in Roman Law and Jurisprudence.

 In 1971, he was designated as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India. He also served as the Solicitor General of India from 1977-1980 and served as the Attorney General of India from 1998-2004. Some famous and important cases fought by him include - Maneka Gandhi, Keshavananda Bharati, IR Coelho, SR Bommai, BP Singhal etc.

2.          Fali Sam Nariman

Fali Sam Nariman got his degree in law in 1950, from the Government Law College, Mumbai. He was very strong academically and stood first in the advocate's examination. Also, he has been awarded the Kinlock Forbes Gold Medal and Prize for Roman Law & Jurisprudence. Despite his exceptional success being a jurist, the law was not his first career choice. His father wanted him to join Civil Services.

He has been practising since 1971 and later in 1991, he was named the President of the Bar Association of India. From 1972-1975 he served as the Additional Solicitor General of India and had to resign from that post due to the declaration of emergency. Some famous profile cases fought by him include the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy, Golak Nath, SP Gupta, TMA Pai Foundation and the likes.

3.          Ram Jethmalani

Ram Jethmalani is a born genius. He was just 17 years old when he received his LLB degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai. At that time 21 was the minimum age to become a lawyer. So, a special resolution was passed so that he could earn this degree because and later earned his LLM degree from SC Shahani Law College, Karachi.

He has served as India's Union Law Minister and as Chairman of Bar Council of India. He was elected as the President of Supreme Court Bar Association in 2010.

He is known for his quick wit and sharpness to handle any situation with calm.

Some of the famous high profile as well controversial cases that he has fought are KM Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra case, Jessica Lall murder case defended Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi’s killers, underworld don Haji Mastan’s case, Afzal Guru’s case, Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, Spectrum 2G case and many more.

4.          Mukul Rohtagi

Mukul Rohtagi is serving as the 14th Attorney General of India, got his degree from the University of Mumbai. He started practising under Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal who later served as the 36th chief justice of India.

Some famous cases fought by Rohtagi include Y K Sabharwal property suit, Jharkhand Assembly floor test case, Ambani brothers’ gas supply case etc.

5.          Ashok Desai

Like others mentioned here, Ashok Desai also received his degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai in 1952. Later, he went on to pursue a bachelor of economics degree from the London School of Economics from where he graduated in 1956. He has represented India in a very excellent manner, abroad. He was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, London and in 1967 and also took part in the Harvard International Seminar.

From 1966-1968, he served as the Attorney General for India and later served as the Solicitor General of India for the tenure between 1989 -1990.

Some famous and high profile cases that he fought include – Sakharam Binder, Piloo Modi, Antulay, Ramanna Shetty, Narasimha Rao about Parliamentary privilege, Vineet Narain etc.