Fali Nariman in the eyes of an engineer

‘Raju, that may be great civil engineering, but it is useless for me as a lawyer.” These words of the renowned jurist, Fali Nariman, said to me during a discussion on water disputes echoed in my ears as I heard of his death a few days ago. I worked closely with him for nearly two decades on several national and international water disputes. During discussions related to these projects, I learned from him the importance—even the need—of putting complicated technical matters in simple form when addressing a group of non-technical people for them to be effective. He once told me, half in jest, “If I do not understand what you are saying, Raju, there is every chance that the judge may not too!”

Apart from his legal expertise, I was greatly impressed by the way he treated judges, tribunal members, and the arbitration panel (in short, the decision-makers) during hearings. He never got into an argument and always, in his own subtle way, made them feel important, even if, as in most cases, they were of lower stature than Fali! I never saw him accept suggestion from any of his advisors unless concrete proof of its veracity was provided to him. No wonder that his subsequent arguments in court were foolproof. He had the amazing knack of reading the mind of a judge from the questions he asked the witness. Quite often, he had guessed what the judgement would be before it was delivered!

His pride and passion were unmatched. I recall his briefing to us all before the hearings on the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River; this was a dispute that Pakistan had raised, saying the design of the dam violated the Indus Waters Treaty between our two countries. He told us, “India is too big a country to be found non-compliant with a treaty; we just cannot afford to lose this case.” For the record, the judgement found no violation of the treaty, and the dam was duly built.

I may also point out that Fali had been personally requested by the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to provide his services, and he did not charge any fee for this assignment. He had great respect for court etiquette and always appeared immaculately dressed. During the hearings before an Arbitration Panel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in the Kishenganga Dispute with Pakistan, he was insistent that all of us should be in proper formal attire. Some of us might have gone in for casual wear—unless we were making presentations—in the absence of such a directive!

The most striking aspect of his personality was his simplicity. His house in Hauz Khas was plain-looking, and the drawing room and the conference chamber were far from ostentatious, despite his visitors being virtually the who-is-who in this country. He travelled in an Ambassador car in Delhi for a long time. His driver told me that even when he was visiting Rashtrapati Bhavan or the PM’s house, he was never embarrassed to get off an Ambassador, while the other dignitary guests landed in posh cars.
Fali was one of the finest hosts I have known. He took personal care of his guests during buffet meals at his place, going so far as to bring items of food and drink to them personally, even though there would be a retinue of the catering staff in attendance. The smallest and biggest of the invitees were made to feel equal.

Seeing him in court or in preparatory meetings, one was always overawed by the towering personality of Fali as a jurist. But those of us who had the good fortune of knowing him socially will always remember the affectionate soul who gave freely of his love and made us all feel extremely comfortable in his company, despite differences in age or standing. Many of us would honestly say, “May his tribe increase!” Goodbye, sweet prince. May the flights of angels sing you to rest.

(The writer is a retired professor of civil engineering, IIT-Roorkee)