Who was Goolam Vahanvati? And why is he such an important name in the Indian law community

Goolam Vahanvati

A talented lawyer to say the least, Goolam was highly accomplished in his field and made several notable contributions. He was a part of numerous high profile cases during his career and these cases are still talked about in the law community.

He rose to up to various ranks during his lifetime, eventually reaching the post of the Attorney general of India, which is the highest post for law in the Indian government. He was also the first Muslim in India to achieve this feat.

He took part in cases such as the fake stamp paper scam, the stock market scam, The Enron cases, the OBC reservations for higher education case and many more. He was also appointed to set up an inquiry on racism in cricket by the International Cricket Council.

From 1999-2004, Goolam serves as the Advocate general of Maharashtra following which he was promoted to be the solicitor general of India until 2009. After this he was appointed as the attorney general of India till 2012 and his tenure was extended for another two years until his untimely demise in September 2014.

A lawyer of of great values, he was inspired by his father who was also a lawyer to pursue law and ever since he was a kid, Goolam looked up to his father. He used to sit in court for hours to witness his father arguing in cases and it had an ever lasting impact on him.

Goolam was often regarded as the go-to junior counsel in the Bombay Bar for his dedicated hard work and keen intelligence.