Ram Jethmalani: Consummate lawyer who lit up every courtroom he graced

Whether it was politics or the courtroom, Jethmalani was never one to shy away from a fight, howsoever unpopular his stand was

If courtrooms in the Indian sub-continent, had a precocious problem child, it was Ram Jethmalani. He qualified as a lawyer at 17 and at 18 was admitted to the Sindh Bar by a special dispensation from the Chief Justice. He had a successsful legal career of 78 years as he continued to contribute till almost his end, just short of his 96th birthday. This achievement is unlikely to be matched anywhere in the world.

A Sindhi from Shikarpur, he started his legal career in Karachi, with A K Brohi. Brohi later rose to became the law minister of Pakistan. In