Amar Nath Grover

Justice Amar Nath Grover (15 February 1912 – 13 July 1993) was an advocate, jurist, judge, and chairman of the Press Council of India. While he is most notably known for his strong judgment on the majority bench of the Fundamental Rights Case (Kesavananda_Bharati_v._State_of_Kerala), which held that the basic structure of the constitution cannot be changed by an act of parliament, it is his supersession by a junior judge that he will be most remembered for.

Amar Nath Grover

For the Indian judiciary, 25 April 1973, was a historical landmark where constitutional rights were saved. After delivering the Fundamental Rights Case on 24 April 1973, the very next day, Indira Gandhi appointed a junior judge, Justice A.N. Ray as the Chief Justice of India, superseding the three senior most judges at that time, namely Justice Shelat, Justice Hegde, and Justice Grover. The trio was the majority which had delivered the judgment and Justice Ray was the minority that dissented. Within hours of the swearing-in of Justice Ray, the trio submitted their resignation to the then President V.V. Giri. At the time of his resignation, Justice Grover was due to retire in February 1977 and therefore left the Supreme Court four years prior to his scheduled retirement. He would have served as the Chief Justice of India for thirty-two months, from Hegde’s scheduled retirement on 10 June 1974. Had Grover become Chief Justice of India, there would have been no Justice Ray Court, for Ray reached age sixty-five on 29 January 1977. Justice Grover's most notable judgment (along with the other judges) is the Fundamental Rights Case; he will also be remembered for landmark decisions which held the government accountable in the "Bank Nationalisation Case" and "Privy Purses".

Justice Grover, Early life, education and family background

Born at Shwebo in Burma, he was the only child of Rai Bahadur Girdharilal Lal Grover and Sukhdevi. Grover earned a BA (honours) in history from Government College, Lahore, obtaining thereafter an MA Degree in history from Punjab University in 1930. He went on to earn a second BA Honours Degree in law at the University of Cambridge in 1935. He earned a first-class degree in law from Christ College and came first in the university. He was awarded first prize in law by Christ’s College and was elected an honorary scholar in the same year. Also in 1936, he was called to the bar from the Middle Temple. He was the first in his family to become a lawyer. Justice Grover married Kanta Bhagat on 11 December 1937. They had four children, three sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Vinod Grover, was in the Indian Foreign Service and headed important missions to countries such as Netherlands, Kenya, and Turkey. He retired as secretary, Ministry of External Affairs. Pramod Grover, a chartered accountant by profession, was Vice Chairman of the Delhi Public School Society and has been an active member of the same for the last 25 years. The late Amod Grover had a corporate career, and his only daughter, Neera Dhawan, lives in Delhi. Three of Justice Grover's granddaughters studied law, but eventually only two pursued the legal profession as a career choice. While Shalini Grover read Law at the Bachelor's level, she is currently a practicing academic with a background in social anthropology and gender studies. Aditi Grover Chopra specializes in technology law and is legal counsel as well as a commercial attorney at Microsoft in Delhi. Gauri Grover's specialization is in litigation; she was involved in filing a 'Public Interest Litigation' (PIL) against the Indian state in relation to a boy who died of dengue because he was refused entry into a hospital.

Judicial career and stabbing incident

On returning from England as a qualified barrister, then aged twenty-five, Grover began practicing as an advocate at the Lahore High Court in 1937. Post-partition, he shifted his practice to Shimla and Chandigarh from 1936 to 1957. He was sworn in as a permanent judge on 21 November 1959 to the Punjab High Court. He was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on 12 February 1968, three days after his fifty-sixth birthday. A month after joining the Supreme Court and sitting on a bench with Chief Justice of India Hidayatullah and Justice Vaidialingam, he was stabbed on the head by an apparently deranged former sailor who had been punished for desertion by a lower court. The wound remained visible and permanent on his head but was not a severe cut.

Dramatic supersession and landmark judgement against corruption

The Kesavananda Bharti versus Union of India SC 1973, established ground rules against uncontrolled power to alter and abolish fundamental rights in India. On 26 April 1973, the day after the three judges were superseded, Justice A.N. Grover announced his resignation and went on paid leave immediately. His letter of resignation to President V.V. Giri is reprinted, as well as a note he wrote about 'Questions That Must be Answered.'
Following the Kesavananda Bharti versus Union of India case, certain judicial norms have become part of India's constitution. The 'Basic Structure Doctrine' evolved, stating that parliament cannot use its power to 'damage', 'emasculate', or 'alter' the basic structure or framework of the constitution.
Unlike ordinary laws, amendments to constitutional provisions require a special majority vote in parliament.
In May 1977, Justice Grover accepted the chairmanship of an inquiry commission which was meant to look into abuse of power, corruption, and nepotism, charges that were levelled against Karnataka Chief Minister Devraj Urs and several of his ministerial colleagues. His 1979 report, titled Grover 'Commission of Inquiry', found Urs guilty of several charges, but the same government was re-elected while he was conducting the investigation, and nothing resulted from his report.

Post-judicial career and writings

In April 1979, Justice A.N. Grover was named Chairman of the Press Council, which had been revived by the Janata Government. In 1982, Indira Gandhi, then back in power, reappointed him for a three-year term, which ended on 9 October 1985. Thereafter, he returned to chamber practice, arbitrations, and began writing about the Indian press and the law, and gave several international talks. He also served on various committees, such as the 'Indian Branch of the International Law Association,' 'World Peace through Law Centre,' and the 'International Bar Association.' In 1990, he published 'Press and the Law', published by Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi.

Honours and tributes

The Fundamental Rights Case or Kesavananda Bharti versus Union of India SC 1973, which restored constitutional rights, is regarded as one of the greatest contributions to India’s judiciary and a landmark historic judgment. All the judges who took a principled stance will be remembered for their contributions.

Bibliography

Gadbois, George H. JR. (2011) Judges of the Supreme Court of India: 1950-1989. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Grover, Amar Nath. (1990) Press and the Law: New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
Grover Commission of Inquiry. (1979). Delhi: Controller of Publications.
Nayar, Kuldip. (1973). Supersession of Judges. New Delhi: India Book Company.

References

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