Even as a law student , the name Iqbal Chagla meant something to me. His name was mentioned by my law professor, as an ideal to emulate. Mr. Chaegla was well in his seventies by the time I got to see him in the hallowed halls of the Bombay High Court. Mr. Chagla had already gripped my imagination and was to be one of those who inspired me to take up ‘counsel practice’ in the Bombay High Court.

Struck with awe the first time I saw Mr. Iqbal Chagla argue a case in the Bombay High Court, a senior colleague of mine told me in a whisper that the name Chagla is synonymous with the Bombay High Court. With a calm demeanour and methodological approach, Mr. Chagla was weaving magic through words. Magic that left an imprint on a young lawyer’s mind.

Many would throng to the court when Mr. Chagla was arguing. Hearing him argue could be a spell binding experience. He stood there tall and erudite. In my eyes, an invisible ‘spotlight’ would shine upon him the second he arose to argue. To say that I was awestruck by his persona in Court would perhaps be an understatement. It was with much anxiety that I once sat at the same table as him in the Bombay Bar Association during lunch time, just to be greeted with a disarming smile that put me at ease. Needless to say, lunch was one giddy ‘fanboy’ moment for me that afternoon!

His contribution to the law is undoubtedly immense, but what he perhaps will be best known for is his role as a leader of the Bombay Bar against the then impropriety of certain Judges of the Bombay High Court in the early 1990s. Taking a step that was unprecedented then and now, the Bombay Bar moved resolutions against five sitting judges of the Bombay High Court!

The Bombay Bar, under Mr. Chagla’s leadership stood fiercely representing the bar against the almighty Bench. He may be no more, but one thing is for certain. The name Chagla shall remain synonymous with the Bombay High Court.

- The author is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India.