Jun 26 2025 to Jun 26 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

In the 1940s, a rebellious teenager tore through the bustling lanes of Surat’s Dawoodi Bohra mohalla on his rickety bicycle, noisily jangling his rusty bell. Obsessed with cricket, mischief and pranks, nobody could have predicted then that young Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi would one day stride across the glittering halls of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to swear in as the third Muslim Chief Justice of India.

This is the story of Justice A.M. Ahmadi —26th Chief Justice of India — who served during some of India’s most turbulent political and legal moments. From his powerful dissent in the Babri Masjid case as he withstood immense political pressures, the fight for federalism in S R Bommai to his extraordinary courage in the unforgettable General Vaidya assassination case, his legacy is remembered for safeguarding democracy and the social fabric of our nation. 

But beyond the courtroom, his story is also one of personal struggles and conviction—navigating a world often hostile to religious minorities, protecting others from the same, or confronting difficult questions of identity and dissent within his own community. For Justice Ahmadi, secularism wasn’t just a legal principle—it was a way of life.

Part biography, part legal history, and part family memoir— this book, written by Justice Ahmadi’s granddaughter, is a journey through the corridors of power and an unflinching portrait of a man who dared to speak truth to power no matter the consequences. 

In this session, author and journalist Insiyah Vahanvaty speaks with senior advocate and legal scholar Aditya Sondhi about her deeply personal and powerfully political biography, The Fearless Judge:The Life and Times of Justice A M Ahmadi. A Q&A with the audience will follow.

Speakers

Insiyah Vahanvaty
Author & Journalist
Insiyah Vahanvaty is an independent journalist, commentator and author with an interest in minority rights, media studies, hate politics, and gender and caste-based violence. Her work has been featured in several Indian and international publications, including Al Jazeera, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, India Today, Quint, Scroll.in, Asian Age, etc. Her academic research has explored the truth-telling crises in India and the erosion of press freedoms. Insiyah’s recent work – The Fearless Judge: The Life and Times of Justice A.M. Ahmadi (Juggernaut, 2024), is a biography of her grandfather, the late Justice A.M. Ahmadi, the 26th Chief Justice of India, and a key figure in the legal and constitutional history of post-Independence India.

Aditya Sondhi
Senior Advocate & Author
Aditya Sondhi is a is a Senior Advocate practising before the Supreme Court of India. He graduated from the National Law School of India University and holds a PhD from Mysore University for his thesis on civil-military relations in India and Pakistan, which is the basis for his latest book Poles Apart. He has previously published two books of non-fiction with Penguin (India) – Unfinished Symphony and The Order of the Crest. He has written and spoken widely in India and abroad, and has a particular interest in military history, Partition and constitutionalism.