Eminent jurist Nani Palkhivala is dead

MUMBAI: Eminent jurist and former ambassador to the US Nani Palkhivala died at the Jalok Hospital here at 5.15 p.m. on Wednesday. He was 82 years old. The final rites will be held at 7.45 a.m. at the Tower of Silence in Malabar Hill, hospital sources said.
According to the hospital''s medical superintendent, Dr J.P. Sharma, Palkhivala was admitted on Saturday following a massive cardiac arrest."His condition had been steadily improving. But this morning, he started slipping," Dr Sharma said. His brother and niece were with him during his final moments. His wife, Nergesh, passed away in 2000. The couple was childless. Close friends say that after his wife died, Palkhivala had lost the desire to live.
Nani Palkivala, who was born on January 16, 1920,was one of the country''s finest jurists. A constitutional expert, he fought several famous cases relating to fundamental rights in India as well as abroad.He also fought cases relating to India and Pakistan before the United Nations'' special tribunal in Geneva and the international court of justice at Hague.
Palkhivala, who in 1968 refused the office of the attorney general of India, fought several cases against the government, including against the nationalisation of banks and the abolishment of privy purses.
He was a member of the first and second law commissions. He also held high positions in business and industry. He was director of Tata Sons from 1968 to 1999 as well as chairman of Associated Cement Companies for many years.Mr Palkhivala was also the country''s ambassador to Washington between 1977 and 1979. He was also president of the Forum for Free Enterprise and chairperson of the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy.
Palkivala''s public speeches on the annual budget were legendary.What first started as a small talk in 1958 at the erstwhile Green''s Hotel, drew such a following that in subsequent years the venue shifted to C.J. Hall and ultimately Brabourne Stadium.