Laxmi Mall Singhvi

Indian jurist, parliamentarian, scholar, writer and diplomat

Laxmi Mall Singhvi (9 November 1931 – 6 October 2007) was an Indian jurist, parliamentarian, scholar, writer and diplomat. He was, after V. K. Krishna Menon, the second longest serving High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom (1991–97). He was conferred with a Padma Bhushan in 1998.

Singhvi was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, into a Marwari Jain family. He had two brothers, Prasan Mall Singhvi and Gulab Mall Singhvi, and two sisters, Pushpa Sett and Chandra Bhandari. Singhvi was a gold medallist in BA from Allahabad University and then did LLB & MA from Jaipur University. He was Rajasthan's first Rotary Scholar to Harvard University for his LLM. He then did his LL. D from Cornell University, USA in two years.

After taking a degree in law, Singhvi began his legal practice at the Jodhpur trial and sessions courts. He practiced as an advocate for some time before contesting and winning the election to Parliament from the Jodhpur (Lok Sabha constituency) in 1962 as an Independent candidate (not affiliated to any political party). During his five year term as MP, his appearances in court were necessarily limited by the demands of work in parliament and in his constituency. He subsequently returned to his law practice full time, but abandoned his practice in the district court to begin practicing at the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court of India. His practice soon flourished and he was named Advocate General of Rajasthan state for the period 1972–77. He was later designated a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India.

Singhvi was drawn to politics as an opponent of radical social agenda championed by Jawaharlal Nehru. Most of the radical legislation was passed during the term of the second Lok Sabha (1957–62). When elections for the third Lok Sabha were held in 1962, Singhvi stood for election as an independent candidate from his hometown, Jodhpur. He won the election by a narrow margin and was elected to Parliament from the Jodhpur constituency. As MP, he proposed the creation of an independent, statutory vigilance body with investigative powers, tasked with unearthing corruption in government. This proposal was based on his study of the role of the Ombudsman in Scandinavian countries. Singhvi served as a member of the Lok Sabha for five years, but lost the election of 1967 and did not return to Parliament until thirty one years later. In 1997, after he returned to India following a long tenure as High Commissioner to the UK, Singhvi formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was elected the following year to the Rajya Sabha for a term of six years (1998–2004). As MP, he served as Chairman of High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora. He was instrumental in implementing the Vajpayee government's outreach to the Indian diaspora. It was he who conceptualised the idea of holding and annual 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' event to promote interaction of NRIs with the Indian government and industry.

In 1991, Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao appointed Singhvi High Commissioner to the Court of St. James. This made him, after VK Krishna Menon, the second longest serving High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom (1991–97). In 1993, during his term as High Commissioner, Singhvi spearheaded the Indian delegation to the United Nations conference on Human Rights in Vienna. The same year, he was invited by the University of Cambridge to deliver the Rede Lecture, the topic being his own book, 'A Tale of Three Cities.' He was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. The Supreme Court of India held the 'First Dr. L. M. Singhvi memorial lecture on 'Law, Technology and Society: Its dynamics’ on 17 January 2009, delivered by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India. Using a bequest by the Trustees of the British Indian Golden Jubilee Banquet Fund, "Dr L M Singhvi Visiting Fellowship" is given out by University of Wales and 'Centre of South Asian Studies', University of Cambridge, for visiting student and scholars of Indian nationality. The School of Constitutional Law at the National Law University, Jodhpur has been named after Dr. L. M Singhvi.

Singhvi was married at a very young age to Kamla (née Baid), a lady of his own community and similar background, in a match arranged by their parents. Their only son, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, is a leading lawyer, statesman and leader of the Congress Party. He is a member of Parliament in India from the Upper House, Rajya Sabha. LM Singhvi's daughter, Abhilasha Singhvi, is engaged in social work as Managing Trustee of Manav Seva Sannidhi, an NGO. Singhvi died on 6 October 2007 in New Delhi following a brief illness.