Fali Sam Nariman

On 17.10.2014, he appeared for the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalitha in a conviction and obtained bail for her, which was earlier rejected.

In December 2009 the Committee on Judicial Accountability stated that it considered that recommendations for judicial appointments should only be made after a public debate, including review by members of the bar of the affected high courts. This statement was made in relation to controversy about the appointments of justices C. K. Prasad and P. D. Dinakaran. The statement was signed by Ram Jethmalani, Shanti Bhushan, Fali Sam Nariman, Anil B. Divan, Kamini Jaiswal and Prashant Bhushan.

Nariman is the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan (in 2007) and Padma Bhushan (in 1991), respectively the second and third highest honors granted to civilians by the President of India. Both awards were for Nariman's contributions to jurisprudence and public affairs. Nariman was awarded the Gruber Prize for Justice in 2002. He dedicated his awards to his alma mater Bishop Cotton School in Shimla.

Nariman was a President-appointee member of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Parliament of India) between 1999 and 2005. He has served as President of International Council for Commercial Arbitration since 1994, President of the Bar Association of India since 1991, Vice-Chairman of the Internal Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce since 1989, honorary member of the International Commission of Jurists since 1988, member of the London Court of International Arbitration since 1988. He was appointed to the Advisory Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in November 1999, and served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Commission of Jurists from 1995 to 1997.

He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan (1991), Padma Vibhushan (2007) and Gruber Prize for Justice (2002) and has remained nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament of India for a term (1999–2005).

Nariman was instrumental to the development of the Indian Constitution's Law. Nariman was Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to 25 June 1975, resigning from that post upon the Declaration of Emergency on 26 June 1975.

Nariman started his law practice at the Bombay High Court. After practicing for 22 years, he was appointed a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India in 1971, a position he retains to date. He said that "My senior's senior, Jamsetjee Kanga was my mentor. He was like a father figure to me. He died at 93 and he is the one who, at the age of 92, told me that he was still learning. He had a tremendous memory and so does my son Rohinton. He was an Ordained Priest and so is Rohinton."

Nariman is married to Bapsi F. Nariman, since 1955, and the couple have two children, a son and a daughter and live in Colaba, Mumbai. His son Rohinton Nariman was a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, who had also held the post of the Solicitor General of India from 2011 to 2013.

Fali Sam Nariman (born 10 January 1929) is an Indian jurist. He is the senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India since 1971 and was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. Nariman is an internationally recognised jurist on international arbitration. He has been honored with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018. He is one of India's most distinguished constitutional lawyers and he has argued several leading cases. He remained Additional Solicitor General of India May 1972- June 1975.

Born in 1929 in Rangoon to Parsi parents Sam Bariyamji Nariman and Banoo Nariman, Fali did his schooling from Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. Thereafter he studied B.A. (Hon.), in Economics and History from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, followed by a law degree (LL.B.) from the Government Law College, Mumbai in, 1950, after standing first in the Advocate's Examination and been awarded the Kinlock Forbes Gold Medal and Prize for Roman Law & Jurisprudence. His father initially wanted him to write the Indian Civil Service Examination. Since he could not afford it at that time, he chose law as his last option.