Hira Lal Sibal
Hira Lal Sibal receiving Padma Bhushan from president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Advocate General of Haryana
In office
24 June 1991 – 10 May 1996
In office
4 February 1985 – 11 July 1986
Advocate General of Punjab
In office
11 April 1970 – 24 January 1972
In office
10 June 1968 – 19 February 1969
Personal details
Born(1914-09-24)24 September 1914
Lahore, Punjab, British India
Died(2012-12-29)29 December 2012
Chandigarh, India
ChildrenKanwal Sibal
Kapil Sibal
OccupationLawyer
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Punjab Rattan Award
Living Legend of Law

Hira Lal Sibal was an Indian lawyer, jurist and two-time Advocate General of Punjab and Haryana, known for his legal defence of cases against the noted Urdu writers, Ismat Chugtai and Saadat Hasan Manto in 1945.[1] He practised at Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India.[2]

Sibal started his practice in 1937 at Lahore of British India[3] and moved to Shimla in 1948 after the Indian independence but later settled in Chandigarh in 1955 to practise at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.[4] He served as the Advocate General for the States of Punjab and Haryana, for two terms each, respectively[1][5] but was reported to have declined an offer to become a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.[6] During his Lahore days, he successfully defended Malik Ghulam Nabi, who would later become a minister in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto government, in a kidnapping case[4] and was the counsel for Ismat Chugtai and Saadat Hasan Manto in the cases against them for indecent writing in 1945; the former was fined ₹90 while the latter was acquitted.[1]

Sibal was a recipient of the Punjab Rattan Award of the Government of Punjab[7] and the International Bar Association awarded him the Living Legend of Law honor in 1994.[4] The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2006, for his contributions to Law.[8] He died on 29 December 2012, at the age of 98.[2] Virender Sibal and Jitendar Sibal, the elder two of his sons are former Indian Administrative Service officers while the third son, Kanwal Sibal, is a former Foreign Secretary of India.[9] The youngest of the sons, Kapil Sibal, is a noted senior lawyer, a politician aligned with the Indian National Congress and a former Union Minister who held various portfolios in the UPA Government from 2009 to 2014.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kapil Sibal bereaved - Hira Lall Sibal dead". Yes Punjab. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Kapil Sibal bereaved". Zee News. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Hira Lal Sibal Kapil Sibal and his 98 year old father in the difference". Bhaskar. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Living legend of the law Hira Lal Sibal breathes his last". Times of India. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Former AGs of Haryana". Government of Haryana.
  6. ↑ "Kapil Sibal's lawyer father Hira Lal dies in Chandigarh". Indian Express. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Kapil Sibal's Father Hira Lall Sibal Dead". Outlook India. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.


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