Legally Speaking: Insights from Fali Nariman's life

Apart from deep insights into important legal and constitutional issues, what makes this book important is Nariman’s unconventional take on a host of important issues. For example, his take on humour in public life makes for an interesting read. He narrates an interesting and funny incident involving JRD Tata.

According to Nariman, JRD. Tata once came to Delhi to consult him regarding a contempt order issued to him by the speaker of the Indian Parliament; he met Nariman quite frequently afterwards. Nariman writes: “On one of these occasions, he told me that when he was very young and had just become chairman of Tata Sons, he was invited by a group of people along with two others. While introducing the speakers, the chairman of the evening read out in detail the CVs of the other two speakers and was about to read something about JRD. When he realised that there was no CV of him in his sheaf of papers. So, he decided to simply tell the audience how well-known JRD is. However, all he blurted out was: 'Ladies and gentlemen, as for Mr J. R. D. Tata, the less said about him, the better.’”

Nariman’s writings also offer reflections on pressing contemporary issues. The Indus Water Treaty is an example. After the Pahalgam attack, the treaty was briefly held in abeyance, but Nariman had long left his own imprint on its legal history. In the Indus–Kishanganga Arbitration at The Hague in 2012, he closed his final argument not with legal citations but with a story. Quoting Paulo Coelho, he recalled a rabbi teaching his pupils that dawn truly begins not when one can distinguish shapes or trees, but when a stranger is seen as a brother and all conflict dissolves. Nariman ended with the hope that the “long night of disputation” between India and Pakistan would give way to such a new day—a line as memorable as it was moving.

An expansive take on the role of media

Similarly, in recent times, the question of press freedom and the role of the Fourth Estate as a neutral watchdog has come under sharp scrutiny. Nariman, in one of his writings, places special emphasis on the press as a vital force in ensuring a robust and accountable justice system—an aspect he considered integral to the health of Indian democracy.

He writes, “A responsible press (I use the word compendiously as a term of art, also encompassing broadcasting by electronic media) is the handmaiden of effective judicial administration. The press does not simply publish information about cases and trials but subjects the entire justice hierarchy (police, prosecutors, lawyers, judges, courts), as well as the judicial processes, to public scrutiny. Free and robust reporting, criticism, and debate contribute to public understanding of the rule of law and to a better comprehension of the entire justice system.”

‘Contempt for contempt’

It is important to note that one of the biggest deterrents to exposing judicial corruption has been the pervasive fear of contempt. On this sensitive issue, Nariman offered rare and thought-provoking insights.

He makes a pertinent point when he writes, “The contempt law, to be justly administered, requires robust common abundant sense and sense of humour-the ability of a judge to laugh at himself. I would commend to them the Atkin approach and the Templeman approach: Courts are not fragile flowers. They do not wilt in the heat of argument nor of criticism, howsoever trenchant and caustic. The contempt power should not be used to discipline either the lawyer or the press. It creates a needless conflict which (with tact) can be avoided. As for the litigant, a 'benign neglect' is recommended. Treat contempt with benign neglect or, in other words, treat contempt with contempt!”

The book serves as a valuable collection of anecdotes about some of India’s most eminent legal minds and political figures. These are not just personal recollections, but narratives that also reflect the larger historical moments of independent India. For example, Nariman writes about Justice VR Krishna Iyer, whose life story becomes a lens to understand both the man and the era he helped shape. Similarly, in the chapter 'Leaders and Luminaries', he recalls the contributions of stalwarts such as Motilal Setalvad, MC. Chagla and Piloo Mody—bringing to life their work, ideas, and lasting impact.

The book ranges across subjects as diverse as arbitration, common law, precedent, federalism, and human rights, while also delving into personal musings on Zoroastrianism, democracy, and much else. Naturally, there can be no traceable thematic uniformity in such a collection. What ties it all together, however, are the rare reflections of a legal luminary who observed and analysed society through the lens of law and law through a broader socio-legal prism—rendering even the most mundane observations vivid and engaging. In all, the book stands as a lasting testament to Fali S. Nariman’s wisdom, wit, and unmatched legal legacy in law and public life.