Justice P.N. Bhagwati

Justice Bhgwati was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from from 12 July 1985 until his retirement on 20 December 1986. 

When Shri Nathji had send invitation cards to the people for the function of January 22, 1984 at FICCI Hall, the first to respond is Justice Bhagwati, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, who thanks Priya Nath and Shri Nathji for the invitation, but regrets that he will miss it because he will be out of Delhi on that date.
Shri Nathji had read a lot about Justice Bhagwati in the newspapers and always spoke of the judge as a “noble and righteous man”. It was as if Shri Nathji’s vibrations had reached the judge’s heart and he had responded to the invitation when no other judges had replied.

Mrs. Bhutt was eligible for pension after the death of her husband, Shri G.P.Bhutt, former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh, but there was no government law entitling the widows of judges to a family pension after the death of their husbands.

So in 1985, at Shri Nathji’s suggestion, Mrs. Bhutt wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Shri P.M.Bhagwati, whom Shri Nathji greatly liked.

Of a sudden a miracle happened–Justice Bhagwati converted the letter into a writ petition at precisely the time when many similar petitions were pending before him– and gave the verdict in favour of the widows in the days that followed. As Shri Nathji was to say, it was because of Mrs. Bhutt that many widows of the land received justice.
IN 1985, HH Priya Nathji approached the Supreme Court, complaining against the rent controller and prays for a transfer of the case. The case is argued by the Senior Advocate, Shri Anil Dev Singh, the son of Shri Nathji's devotee, Justice Jaswant Singh.
The Supreme Court gives an urgent stay order and the rent case is halted in a single day! The landlord who had come over to the house is handed over the stay order, and goes away in a dazed state.
It is a miracle of Shri Nathji, no less. Shri Anil Dev Singh himself said that he had to make virtually no arguments before the judge, who gave an instant order–the fastest to his knowledge!Justice P.N. Bhagwati was the Judge of the Supreme Court who had given this Stay Order. Justice Bhagwati thereafter, became Shri Nathji’s favourite judge, and his judgements Shri Nathji would praise again and again before HH Priya Nathji .

The Hon'ble Mr. Justice P.N. Bhagwati was  born on  21st December,1921. He  secured 2nd position in Matriculation in Bombay. He graduated in Maths. (Hons.) in Ist class from Elphinstone College, Bombay in 1941 and was appointed a Fellow of the same college; whilst doing M.A. in Maths. He was courted arrest during the National Freedom Movement in 1942 and went underground for four months. He took his Law Degree in Ist Class from Government Law College, Bombay and practised at the Bombay High Court. He became a Judge of the Gujarat High Court on 21st July, 1960 and the Chief Justice of Gujarat on 16th September, 1967. He became Judge of the Supreme Court on 17th July, 1973. He was appointed as Chief Justice of India on 12.07.1985.  He retired on 20.12.1986. He married Prabhavati Shethji,. They have  three daughters Parul, Pallavi and Sonali.In 2007 Bhagwati was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs, India's second highest civilian award.

Justice Bhagwati died on 15 June 2017 at the age of 95 after brief illness at his home in New Delhi. His funeral was held on 17 June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his death calling him "stalwart of India's legal fraternity"