Adv Lily Thomas, Senior Most Woman Lawyer Of SC, Passes Away

Senior most woman lawyer of Supreme Court Advocate Lily Thomas passed away at the age of 91.

She has filed many important Public Interest Litigations in the Supreme Court.

She filed the first petition challenging the Advocate-On-Record system. She was of the view that the court did not have the power to subject the advocates to this exam. Section 30 which is under Part IV of the Advocates Act provides that all advocates have the right to practice in all Courts across the country, including the Supreme Court, and that no restriction could be imposed in this regard, she told LiveLaw in an interview. 

She had also challenged Section 494 of Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes bigamy.

It was on her petition that the Supreme Court had struck down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act that allowed convicted lawmakers to continue without disqualification  during pendency of appeals challenging the conviction. It was a landmark ruling, which resulted in automatic disqualification of legislators upon conviction for a period of two years or more. When the government had prepared an ordinance to nullify the judgment, Thomas made a review petition against the ordinance. The government was later forced to withdraw the ordinance after severe criticism.

She hailed from Kottayam in Kerala and grew up in Trivandrum. After obtaining law degree from Madras University, she had joined Madras High Court in 1955. She completed masters course in law in 1959. She was the first lady in India to qualify for an LLM degree. She shifted her practice to Supreme Court in 1960.

"Boldness is the indispensable disposition and quality for women lawyers. Study of law is an extremely liberating and strengthening experience. It helps in personality development", she had said.

Read the Live Law interview (2013) with Lily Thomas here