Noted lawyer and politician Ram Jethmalani’s biography has everything — from controversial cases to his marriages. Author Susan Adelman tells Neeti Nigam what makes him one of the greatest lawyers of India and why he loved being a teacher
There are a very few people who speak out their mind bluntly even though their remarks land them in trouble. One such personality has been Ram Jethmalani who has success and controversies in equal measure. As a lawyer, his landmark victories have contributed to many watershed moments in the Indian law history.
At 92, he continues to command a great fan following, especially among women, thanks to his wit and persona and as Shobha De puts it, “there can’t be another Ram Jethmalani in our lifetime.”
Recently, his biography was launched. Author Susan Adelman told us that though she had known him for around 40 years, it was a condition put by Jethmalani that she should read at least 100 cases he fought before writing about him. Adelman studied 400 cases. “I have written everything about him — right from his personal accounts, controversies, unknown facets of his life, insider tidbits, cases of criminal law, political and constitutional importance and so on,” said the author who is a pediatrician and an artist, too.
The author believes that some of Ram’s contributions have been historic. She said, “He is an absolute expert in the rules of evidence in clarifying whether they were in proprietary to the way the charge was brought. He should be credited for making the law clear. He has many examples of cross-examination which at times are funny, but also a teaching example for students.” The author cited that he used to visit the spot to investigate cases.
She said, “There was a murder case in which police claimed to have found the weapon (knife) which was used to kill the victim. The police claimed that the accused took them to a well where he threw knife after the murder. However, Ram investigated the case in his own way. He visited the spot and asked the watchman if he had seen police before they obtained the knife. The watchman revealed that the police had come two days in advance in a jeep and did something around the well which he didn’t know. So obviously they dropped the knife.”
The author has written about Ram’s initial life at Sind, his love for Kashmiriyat and his marriage to Durga and Ratna. How about his affairsIJ Adelman said, “If you read it, you can pick a lot of things that weren’t completely said.”
The book chronicles his journey as a young lawyer, defending the most notorious people like former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins and so on. “Sometimes his decisions were sincere, sometimes they were worse. But he has been honest in trying to do the right things. For instance, there were cases that he was being criticised for but my husband, a law professor defended him, saying that he is a lawyer, hence he is obligated to take the cases that comes to him,” said the author.
Adelman claims that she has a good understanding of cases he has been heavily criticised for. “The press has criticised him like anything, especially in Jessica lal case,” she said, adding, “He is best in convincing people and he debated very well in Jessica’s case, but I still don’t buy his argument.”
There was one more biography written on Ram Jethmalani. Adelman tells us why the new one is different from the earlier one. “His last biography was written some 14 years ago by Nalini Gera. Unlike her, I have given perspective to his works. In all these years, a lot of things have happened in his life,” she said and added, “There are subjects that I am interested in which Gera wasn’t, like his stint in National law University. I have had a stronger interest in the Kashmir aspect and also have been conscious to his teachings because I have listened to his lectures.”
The author feels that Ram enjoys the company of law students and enjoyed his stint as a law teacher. Ram admits it, too. “He is a magical teacher and has influenced thousands. He is humorous, can say the most outrageous things and can get away with it,” said Adelman. What is that one thing that he regretted in lifeIJ “Getting married,” the author chuckled.