My respects to my lifelong childhood friend George Fernandes, Ex-Defence Minister of India, on the occasion of his 88th Birthday so kindly celebrated at Mumbai by the Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat, which he founded in 1983, under the aegis of his long-time friend Mr. Justice M.N. Venkatachalaiah, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India.
My relationship with George Fernandes became possible because his maternal grandmother lived on one side of the road, now known as the Bejai New Road, while I was staying with my parents and sisters on the other side of the same road. Both of us were members of the Altar Server’s Sodality in the St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai, Mangaluru. At the age of 16, he decided to join the priesthood and became a seminarian at St. Mary’s Seminary for one and half year and then at St. Peters Seminary for one year, both in Bengaluru. There he lived and studied Theology until he felt that priesthood was not going to be his vocation. He then came out and sought recommendation from a rich relation of his to go to Mumbai. The gentleman denied his request and in consultation with his good friend Sri. Ammembal Balappa among others, he went to Bombay, and flourished as a labour leader only to rise to the position of the Defence Minister of India.
Now I briefly refer to my rapport with my dear friend George. I was always feeling that the Christians numbering about two crores were discriminated in that they were required to obtain Probate of the Wills of their ancestors while the other communities were exempted.
On a fine morning on a holiday, I was in the office with no clients in front of me. I opened the book on the Indian Succession Act and the page I saw related to the requirement of Probate of Christian Wills. I was shocked to realize that there was no requirement to obtain Probate of Hindu and Muslim Wills but that Christians were required compulsorily to obtain Probate of the Wills of their ancestors at great cost and inconvenience before such Wills could be relied upon. I was convinced that injustice was being done to Christians and it was a case fit to be challenged in the Supreme Court. In addition to my qualification as an Advocate, I had the backing of the Christian Planter’s Guild and I was furthermore the President of the Catholic Association of South Kanara (CASK).
I wanted one of the best lawyers to file the case and, as luck would have it, Soli Sorabjee, one of India’s most outstanding jurists, agreed to file it at a concessional fee. I filed a Writ as President of CASK and on my own behalf.
Unfortunately, when the Writ came up for hearing, Soli Sorabjee became the Attorney General of India. At the last moment, I could only engage a junior lawyer, who did his best, but, as expected, the Writ was dismissed by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court. The judgment is reported in AIR 2001 Supreme Court page 1151.
Undaunted by the failure and relying on the principle that when one door is shut, another opens, I decided to approach Parliament. Fortunately for me, I had a fairy Godfather, my childhood friend George Fernandes, who was then Defence Minister in the Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Prime Minister of India. I flew to New Delhi and gate-crashed into his house there at No.3, Krishna Menon Marg. As a mark of support for my cause, George phoned the then Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, and took an appointment for the next day. At the meeting, I explained the case, whereupon he asked me only two questions:
“What have Indian Christians been doing for the last 200 years, only to wake up now for this relief which they rightly deserve? In case I, as Law Minister, agree to move for the amendment of the Indian Succession Act through Parliament, will I have the support of the Indian clergy”?
To this, I replied: “It is never too late, and the Indian clergy is backing me. What is more, the support for this cause has also come from George Fernandes, and his support should be taken as the support of the Christians of India”.
My reply drew a smile from Arun Jaitley and an assurance that he would support our cause. A few days later, George Fernandes phoned me late at night to tell me that he had just returned from a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister and that he had signed the Bill, which would then be introduced in Parliament.
When the Bill, aimed at doing away with the compulsory requirement for Christians to obtain Probate of the Wills of their ancestors, came before Parliament, I am happy to say, the entire Parliament voted in favour of the Bill and it became Law and was numbered as Act No. 26 of 2002. The important point in favour of Christians was that the Amendment covered not only future Wills but also the unprobated past Wills.
I hope and pray that God Almighty will Bless Dear George plentifully and with such Blessings he will be able to spend his twilight years in peace.