On October 22, 2026, I had the privilege of having tea with 103-year-old Vicaji J. Taraporevala. I have known this centenarian for almost three decades but was meeting him after 20 years.

I shall always be grateful to Justice Manoj Sanklecha, retired judge of the Bombay High Court, and Taraporevala’s former junior, for arranging this meeting. For some inexplicable reason, Justice Sanklecha’s number appeared on my phone’s screen on October 21. By a happy coincidence, I was to appear before the Bombay High Court the next day. I called him and enquired about Taraporevala. To my delight, I was told that he was fine. Justice Sanklecha agreed to fix an appointment the next evening.

My mind went down memory lane. There was a case before the Customs and Excise Tribunal, and Taraporevala was unable to come down to Chennai. Sanklecha and I appeared and we succeeded. Thereafter, I remained in touch with Taraporevala for some time.

Vicaji Jivanji Taraporewala was born on June 21, 1923 and joined the chambers of the leading Sir Jamshedji Kanga in 1946. (Incidentally, Nani Palkhivala had joined the same chamber two years earlier). Over the years, Taraporevala practised before the Supreme Court, the Bombay High Court and, particularly, before the Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax Tribunal (CESTAT).

What set Taraporevala apart from other lawyers were his legal commentaries. Well before I had the opportunity of working with him, I had purchased his excellent commentary on the “Law of Central Excise”.  This branch became an important area of practice in the late 70s as every manufactured product became liable to excise duty. In 1982, the Tribunal was formed with a Principal Bench in New Delhi and four regional benches. I had to often refer to Taraporevala’s commentary on this subject and was impressed with his explanation of the basic concepts of this levy. 

The success of this book encouraged him to write another commentary on “Customs law – Custom Levy, Valuation and Classification”. This too became an indispensable book for indirect tax practitioners.

In 2005, my bookseller brought me a copy of Law of Intellectual Property. To my surprise, it was written by Taraporevala. This book was released when he was 82 years old, and its popularity called for two further editions in 2012 and 2019. It is very rare indeed for a lawyer to write a commentary on completely diverse topics.

But a bigger surprise was in store for me when I met him for tea two days ago. His son told me that his first book was published in 1963, titled Medical Law and Ethics in India, and co-authored with Dr Homi Shapurji Mehta.

After having practiced for five decades, Taraporevala started losing his hearing ability and turned increasingly to writing and wrote a few more books. His vast experience in the legal profession led him to write “Tales from the Bench and Bar”. This book has captured the experience, traditions and professional life of the legal community and has been published in three editions. His love for literature led him to write “Lilting and Eloquent English: A Symphony of Words”. This book examines the distinctive quality of celebrated writers Shakespeare, Oliver Goldsmith and Rudyard Kipling.  This is the first part of the book, and the second part examines the eloquent speeches that were made in the context of freedom, democracy, patriotism and political leadership.

I was amazed to learn that he obtained special permission from the then Chief Justice Mohit Shah to use the Judges' library when he pursued his research from 2012 to 2022. This means that he went to the library every day from the age of 89 to 99! At the age of 102, he published a commentary on “Administrative Law”, with Dr. Uma Narayan as the co-author. She was the former Deputy Registrar of the Bombay High Court and also the Registrar of the Supreme Court of India, and is now an advocate at the Bombay High Court. This 250-page book admirably summarises the essential principles of administrative law. At 103, he is now writing another book that relates to English Literature!!

Taraporevala, in his earlier days, was fairly disciplined. He ate frugally, is a teetotaller and swam every day. Today, he walks every evening in his apartment complex. But he does not follow any specific diet. I was both delighted and amazed to see him eating two onion pakodas and a Coke, while Sanklecha and I had pakodas and Tea. What is even more remarkable is that Taraporevala is a cancer survivor and had a major surgery in 2008. But this did not slow him down, and 18 years later, he is still writing. Such grit and determination is an inspiration to all of us.

Taraporevala lost his wife just two years ago, and she was ten years younger than him. His son, Kai, worked in the petroleum sector and later went on to the financial services sector. After retirement, he now takes care of his father. Kai is also an author of books on diverse topics – the latest book is titled “From Prehistory to the Age of AGI” Taraporevala’s daughter lives in New Zealand.

Taraporevala’s flat has a small piece but important piece of history: a chair used by the legendary J.D. Inverarity. In his autobiography, Roses in December, Justice Chagla mentions that John Duncan Inverarity was the leader of the Bombay Bar, and Chapter Four contains anecdotes about this English lawyer. The chair used by Inverarity is now possessed by Taraporevala.

All good things must come to an end. The evening spent with him, Justice Sanklecha and his son will always be remembered by me. While leaving, he insisted that I should meet him again on my next visit to Bombay High Court and I intend to do just that.

Arvind Datar is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India.

The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Dr. Uma Narayan, Advocate in the writing of this article