Rajeev Dhavan
Rajeev Dhavan (born 4 August 1946)[1] is an Indian Senior Advocate, a human rights activist, and a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists.[2] He is the author or co-author of numerous books on legal and human rights topics, and is a regular columnist in the leading newspapers in India.[3][4] He is the son of the late diplomat and jurist Shanti Swaroop Dhavan.[1]
Rajeev Dhavan | |
---|---|
Born | India)[1] | 4 August 1946(
Nationality | Indian |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Known for | Civil rights activity |
Dhavan led the attorney team for the Muslims in the famous Babri Masjid case.
Career
Rajeev Dhavan did his schooling from Boys' High School and College.He studied law at Allahabad University, then at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (where he was elected President of the Cambridge Union) and London University.[1] He has taught at Queen's University Belfast, Brunel University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Texas at Austin. He is an Honorary Professor at the Indian Law Institute.[2]
Dhavan is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India and was designated in 1994.[2] He runs the Public Interest Legal Support and Research Centre, which tries to make youth aware of constitutional and legal subjects.[5] Dhavan was elected to the International Commission of Jurists in 1998 and was a member of the Executive Committee between 2003 and 2007, and from 2009. He was appointed as the chairperson of the Executive Committee in 2009.[2]
In March 2003 Dhavan was a signatory to a statement that condemned the US-led invasion of Iraq, calling it "unprovoked, unjustified and violative of international law and the United Nations Charter". Other signatories included Rajinder Sachar, Shanti Bhushan, Pavani Parameswara Rao, Kapil Sibal and Prashant Bhushan.[6]
Dhavan has represented the Babri Masjid Action Committee before the Allahabad High Court over the title to the land on which the mosque stood before being destroyed by a mob in 1992.[5] When the Allahabad High Court ruled that the site should be divided between Hindus and Muslims, Dhavan said: "This is Panchayati justice which takes away the legal rights of Muslims and converts the moral sentimental entitlements of Hindus into legal rights".[7]
In the final hearing of arguments in the Supreme court in the Ram Janm Bhoomi case, Dhavan lost his temper and eventually tore up documents presented as evidence by one of the parties. He was criticized heavily with calls for contempt of court proceedings against him.[8] Dhavan also alleged the judges during the hearing of having an aggressive tone, however he later apologized stating he got emotionally carried away during the hearing.[9]
Later it was confirmed that Rajeev Dhavan tore the map with the permission of (then) CJI Ranjan Gogoi, holding the earlier claims false. [10][11]
Bibliography
- Rajeev Dhavan (1972). Juristic Techniques in the Supreme Court of India 1950-1971 in Some Selected Areas of Public and Personal Law. p. 1454.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1976). Black People in Britain, the Way Forward: A Report of a Conference Held [In Bloomsbury Hotel, London] 17-19 January 1975. The Committee. p. 227. ISBN 0950565903.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1976). The Supreme Court of India and parliamentary sovereignty: a critique of its approach to the recent constitutional crisis. Sterling Publishers. p. 404.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1977). The Supreme Court of India: A Socio-legal Critique of Its Juristic Techniques. N. M. Tripathi. p. 524.
- Rajeev Dhavan; Alice Jacob (1978). Selection and appointment of Supreme Court judges: a case study. N.M. Tripathi. p. 125.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1978). The amendment: conspiracy or revolution?. Wheeler. p. 235.
- Rajeev Dhavan, P. Kalpakam, Indian Law Institute (1978). The Supreme Court under strain: the challenge of arrears. Tripathi. p. 164.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Rajeev Dhavan; Christie Davies (1978). Censorship and obscenity. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 187. ISBN 0847660540.
- Rajeev Dhavan, Indian Law Institute (1979). President's rule in the states. N. M. Tripathi. p. 240.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1980). Justice on trial: the Supreme Court today. Wheeler. p. 292.
- Rajeev Dhavan, Indian Law Institute, Press Council of India (1982). Contempt of Court and the Press. N.M. Tripathi. p. 280.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- V. R. Krishna Iyer; Rajeev Dhavan; Salman Khurshid (1985). Judges and the judicial power: essays in honour of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer. Sweet & Maxwell. p. 340. ISBN 0421288604.
- Rajeev Dhavan, Indian Law Institute (1986). Litigation explosion in India. N.M. Tripathi. p. 179.
- Jeremy Cooper (1986). Jeremy Cooper; Rajeev Dhavan (eds.). Public Interest Law. Basil Blackwell. p. 482. ISBN 0631142991.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1987). Only the Good News: On the Law of the Press in India. Manohar Publications. p. 514. ISBN 818505438X.
- Rajeev Dhavan; William L. Twining; Neil Kibble (1989). Access to legal education and the legal profession. Butterworths. p. 343. ISBN 0406700656.
- Marc Galanter; Rajeev Dhavan (1989). Law and Society in Modern India. Oxford University Press. pp. 329. ISBN 0195622944.
- Rajeev Dhavan, Public Interest Legal Support & Research Centre (New Delhi, India) (2004). Refugee Law and Policy in India. PILSARC. p. 164.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- Rajeev Dhavan (2008). Reserved!: How Parliament Debated Reservations 1995-2007. Rupa & Company. p. 319. ISBN 978-8129113696.
- Rajeev Dhavan (2008). Publish and be Damned: Censorship and Intolerance in India. Tulika Books. p. 312. ISBN 978-8189487454.
- Rajeev Dhavan (1984). Legitimating Government Rhetoric: Reflections on Some Aspects of the Report of the Second Press Commission. Journal of the Indian Law Institute. pp. 391–423. Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43950943
References
- "About Rajeev Dhavan", rajeevdhavan.com. Accessed 31 July 2020.
- "RAJEEV DHAVAN". International Commission of Jurists. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- "Speakers: Rajeev Dhavan". The Center for South Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- "Rajeev Dhavan". The Indian Express. July 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- VENKATESAN, V. (9–22 October 2010). "Seriously flawed". Frontline. 27 (21). Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- "Rajeev Dhawan and Other Signatories". www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- J. VENKATESAN (1 October 2010). "Panchayati justice that takes away legal rights of Muslims: Rajeev Dhavan". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- "Ayodhya hearing: Lawyer Rajeev Dhavan marred his performance in Supreme Court with his needless Arnab Goswami act". Firstpost. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Ayodhya case: Muslim parties' lawyer Rajeev Dhavan loses cool, terms judge's tone as aggressive". The Financial Express. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Rajeev Dhavan Had CJI's Go Ahead to Tear Map But Hindu Mahasabha Complains Anyway". The Wire. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "In latest theatrics, Rajeev Dhavan shreds 'Ram birthplace' map". The Times of India. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.