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 | 24 September 1914 Lahore, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 29 December 2012 Chandigarh, India |
| Children | Kanwal Sibal Kapil Sibal |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Awards | Padma 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]
