P.P. Rao
Encyclopedia
Pavani Parameswara Rao (P.P. Rao) is a Senior Advocate
practising in the Supreme Court of India
. Widely considered a doyen of Constitutional Law
, he has argued a number of landmark cases before the Supreme Court.
of Andhra Pradesh
. He completed his B.A. from V.R. College, Nellore
, Andhra University
and his LL.B. and LL.M. from Osmania University
, Hyderabad. Mr. Rao started his career teaching law in the University of Delhi
in 1961. He was enrolled as an Advocate by the Bar Council of Delhi in 1967 and thereafter started practice in the Supreme Court. During this time he assisted leading lawyers of the time like H.M. Seervai, M.C. Setalvad, C.K. Daphtary, N.C. Chatterjee, S.V. Gupte, A.K. Sen, Niren De, etc. In February, 1969, he became an Advocate-on-Record. He was Advocate-on-Record for the State of Andhra Pradesh and a Junior Standing Counsel for the Central Government before he was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in August, 1976.
He was elected the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1991, and in 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan
. On 4 March 2010, he was awarded an LL.D. (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his eminence and contributions to the cause of public interest.
(BJP)-ruled states, viz., Uttar Pradesh
, Madhya Pradesh
, Rajasthan
and Himachal Pradesh
. When these proclamations were challenged in the Supreme Court by eminent lawyers like Soli Sorabjee
, Ram Jethmalani
, Shanti Bhushan
and others who generally represented the opposition parties, Mr. P.P. Rao defended the Proclamations representing the States of Madhya Pradesh
and Himachal Pradesh
which were then under President’s Rule. Mr. P.P. Rao conceived, developed and presented the argument based on secularism which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and convinced the Court that all the four BJP Governments had acted in concert and violated the basic feature of secularism by mobilizing, encouraging and supporting the Kar Sevaks
who demolished Babri Masjid. The Supreme Court upheld all the four Proclamations without any dissent only on this ground. The judgement is reported as SR Bommai v Union of India, (1994) 3 SCC 1 = AIR 1994 SC 1918. Mr. Rao has appeared in several other leading cases involving interpretation of the Constitution. He successfully fought against the evil of capitation fees in educational institutions in J.P. Unnikrishnan's case (1993); for the privileges of Members of Parliament in P.V. Narasimha Rao's case (1998) ; for the Governor’s power to appoint a Chief Minister who is not a member of the Legislature, but enjoying majority support while her appeal against conviction was pending in B.R. Kapoor’s case (2001); for the voters’ right to information about the antecedents of contesting candidates in the PUCL case appearing for Lok Satta (2003); for Government’s power of regulation of admissions to professional courses for preventing exploitation of students by private institutions in T.M.A. Pai (2002), Islamic Academy (2003) and P.A. Inamdar (2005). Representing the National Human Rights Commission, he persuaded the Supreme Court to intervene directly in the Best Bakery case
in which Fast Track Court had acquitted all the accused.
, Law Asia and Conferences of Commonwealth Law Association. He led the Indian delegation of lawyers to the Soviet Union
(1983) and was a member of the official delegation of lawyers to China led by the Attorney-General (1990).He along with other like minded lawyers and citizens organized a National Convention for Communal Harmony and Constitutional Objectives in Delhi in April–May 1993, after the demolition of Babri Masjid, securing the participation of many renowned persons from different fields, including retired Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Members of Parliament past and present, former Ministers, administrators including former Cabinet Secretaries, Governors, academicians, journalists and others. Mr. P.P. Rao is also associated with several organizations/associations mostly connected with law, teaching and legal research. He is a Member of the Governing bodies of National Law Schools, Indian Law Institute, National Judicial Academy etc.
]. He contributed a chapter “Union Judiciary” in “Constitutional Law of India” edited by Justice M. Hidayatullah, former CJI and former Vice-President of India
(1984). He wrote a chapter on “The Political Executive” in the book “Political Reforms” published under the auspices of Centre For Policy Studies (2001) and has contributed many articles to legal periodicals and newspapers on constitutional law and human rights, including an article for the golden jubilee of the Supreme Court published in “Supreme But Not Infallible : Essays in Honour of the Supreme Court of India (2000).”
Articles authored by him are often published by The Tribune
and the Indian Express.
2. Kandukuri Veeresalingam Investigative Journalism Award (2000) given by Hithakarini Samaj, Dr. Vasi Reddy Malathi Trust, Rajahmundry, A.P.
3. National Law Day Award (2005) for his life long contribution in the field of constitutional law given by Indian Council of Jurists.
4. Padma Bhushan
announced on January 26, 2006 and awarded on March 29, 2006.
5. Andhra Kesri Award (2006) by Andhra Kesri Seva Parivar, Andhra Pradesh.
6. ‘Nyaaya Visarada’ by Sree Rayala Kala Samithi, Chennai
7. First Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Award instituted by the Capital Foundation Society awarded on November 15, 2006.
8. Ugadi Puraskar (2007) awarded by Delhi Telugu Academy on March 25, 2007
9. Human Excellence Award (2008) instituted by Institution of Engineers (India) and AVR Foundation, Hyderabad.
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
practising in the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
. Widely considered a doyen of Constitutional Law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
, he has argued a number of landmark cases before the Supreme Court.
Early life
He was born on July 1, 1933, in Mogalicherla Village, Lingasamudram Mandal in the Prakasam DistrictPrakasam district
Prakasam District is an administrative district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, in India. The district headquarters is located at Ongole City...
of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. He completed his B.A. from V.R. College, Nellore
Nellore
Nellore , is a city and headquarters of Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District, formerly Nellore district.And in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Ancient name of Nellore was "Vikrama Simhapuri"....
, Andhra University
Andhra University
Andhra University or Andhra Viswa Kala Parishad , located in Visakhapatnam, north east coastal Andhra Pradesh, is one of the older premier universities in India with a broad focus...
and his LL.B. and LL.M. from Osmania University
Osmania University
Osmania University , , since 1918, is a public university located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established and named after the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. It is one of the oldest modern universities in India. It is the first Indian University to have Urdu and...
, Hyderabad. Mr. Rao started his career teaching law in the University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
in 1961. He was enrolled as an Advocate by the Bar Council of Delhi in 1967 and thereafter started practice in the Supreme Court. During this time he assisted leading lawyers of the time like H.M. Seervai, M.C. Setalvad, C.K. Daphtary, N.C. Chatterjee, S.V. Gupte, A.K. Sen, Niren De, etc. In February, 1969, he became an Advocate-on-Record. He was Advocate-on-Record for the State of Andhra Pradesh and a Junior Standing Counsel for the Central Government before he was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in August, 1976.
He was elected the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1991, and in 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
. On 4 March 2010, he was awarded an LL.D. (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his eminence and contributions to the cause of public interest.
Contribution to the development of law in India
Soon after demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, President’s Rule was imposed in the four Bharatiya Janata PartyBharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP)-ruled states, viz., Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. When these proclamations were challenged in the Supreme Court by eminent lawyers like Soli Sorabjee
Soli Sorabjee
Soli Jehangir Sorabjee is an Indian jurist.-Biography:Soli Sorabjee was born on March 9, 1930 in Bombay, and after an education at Government Law College, Bombay, was admitted to the bar in 1953...
, Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani, : राम जेठ्मलानी,: رام جيٺملاڻي born 14 September 1923, in Shikharpur in Sindh, British India) is an Indian lawyer and politician. He has served in various posts such as Union Law Minister and Chairman of Bar Associations...
, Shanti Bhushan
Shanti Bhushan
Shanti Bhushan in Allahabad, United Provinces is a former Law Minister of India at Ministry of Law and Justice in the Morarji Desai Ministry and also a senior advocate...
and others who generally represented the opposition parties, Mr. P.P. Rao defended the Proclamations representing the States of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
and Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
which were then under President’s Rule. Mr. P.P. Rao conceived, developed and presented the argument based on secularism which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and convinced the Court that all the four BJP Governments had acted in concert and violated the basic feature of secularism by mobilizing, encouraging and supporting the Kar Sevaks
Kar Sevaks
A Kar Sevak is someone who offers services for free to a religious cause. It originates from the Sanskrit words kar and sevak ....
who demolished Babri Masjid. The Supreme Court upheld all the four Proclamations without any dissent only on this ground. The judgement is reported as SR Bommai v Union of India, (1994) 3 SCC 1 = AIR 1994 SC 1918. Mr. Rao has appeared in several other leading cases involving interpretation of the Constitution. He successfully fought against the evil of capitation fees in educational institutions in J.P. Unnikrishnan's case (1993); for the privileges of Members of Parliament in P.V. Narasimha Rao's case (1998) ; for the Governor’s power to appoint a Chief Minister who is not a member of the Legislature, but enjoying majority support while her appeal against conviction was pending in B.R. Kapoor’s case (2001); for the voters’ right to information about the antecedents of contesting candidates in the PUCL case appearing for Lok Satta (2003); for Government’s power of regulation of admissions to professional courses for preventing exploitation of students by private institutions in T.M.A. Pai (2002), Islamic Academy (2003) and P.A. Inamdar (2005). Representing the National Human Rights Commission, he persuaded the Supreme Court to intervene directly in the Best Bakery case
Best Bakery case
The Best Bakery case was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery in Vadodara, India, on March 1, 2002...
in which Fast Track Court had acquitted all the accused.
Seminars and conferences
Mr. Rao has participated in several seminars and conferences including the SAARC Law conferences, International Bar AssociationInternational Bar Association
The International Bar Association is an international association of lawyers and lawyers' associations. The IBA's stated purpose is to promote an exchange of information between legal associations worldwide, support the independence of the judiciary and the right of lawyers to practice their...
, Law Asia and Conferences of Commonwealth Law Association. He led the Indian delegation of lawyers to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(1983) and was a member of the official delegation of lawyers to China led by the Attorney-General (1990).He along with other like minded lawyers and citizens organized a National Convention for Communal Harmony and Constitutional Objectives in Delhi in April–May 1993, after the demolition of Babri Masjid, securing the participation of many renowned persons from different fields, including retired Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Members of Parliament past and present, former Ministers, administrators including former Cabinet Secretaries, Governors, academicians, journalists and others. Mr. P.P. Rao is also associated with several organizations/associations mostly connected with law, teaching and legal research. He is a Member of the Governing bodies of National Law Schools, Indian Law Institute, National Judicial Academy etc.
Written works
Mr. Rao is co-author of “Emergency and the Law” (1966) with his Senior, N.C. Chatterjee, M.P. [father of Somnath ChatterjeeSomnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee is an Indian politician who had been associated with the Communist Party of India for most of his life, though he is currently an independent...
]. He contributed a chapter “Union Judiciary” in “Constitutional Law of India” edited by Justice M. Hidayatullah, former CJI and former Vice-President of India
Vice-President of India
The Vice-President of India is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Government of India, after the President...
(1984). He wrote a chapter on “The Political Executive” in the book “Political Reforms” published under the auspices of Centre For Policy Studies (2001) and has contributed many articles to legal periodicals and newspapers on constitutional law and human rights, including an article for the golden jubilee of the Supreme Court published in “Supreme But Not Infallible : Essays in Honour of the Supreme Court of India (2000).”
Articles authored by him are often published by The Tribune
The Tribune
The Tribune is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from Chandigarh, New Delhi, Jalandhar, Dehradun and Bathinda. It was founded on 2 February 1881, in Lahore , by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising five eminent persons as...
and the Indian Express.
Awards
1. Award of Great Legal Luminary of India (1997) given by All India Conference of Intellectuals (Delhi State).2. Kandukuri Veeresalingam Investigative Journalism Award (2000) given by Hithakarini Samaj, Dr. Vasi Reddy Malathi Trust, Rajahmundry, A.P.
3. National Law Day Award (2005) for his life long contribution in the field of constitutional law given by Indian Council of Jurists.
4. Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
announced on January 26, 2006 and awarded on March 29, 2006.
5. Andhra Kesri Award (2006) by Andhra Kesri Seva Parivar, Andhra Pradesh.
6. ‘Nyaaya Visarada’ by Sree Rayala Kala Samithi, Chennai
7. First Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Award instituted by the Capital Foundation Society awarded on November 15, 2006.
8. Ugadi Puraskar (2007) awarded by Delhi Telugu Academy on March 25, 2007
9. Human Excellence Award (2008) instituted by Institution of Engineers (India) and AVR Foundation, Hyderabad.
External links
- http://lawandotherthings.blogspot.com/2007/08/pprao-on-obc-quota-in-higher.html Law and Other Things: P.P. Rao on OBC quota in higher educational institutions
- http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Law/2003/corruption.htm Combating Corruption in the Judiciary - P.P. Rao
- http://www.iosworld.org/lecture_series_on_indian_constit%20by%20pp%20rao.htm Affirmative Action under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) and Minorities