Advocate Lily Thomas was a trailblazing Indian lawyer and among the first women in India to obtain an LL.M. degree (with 1^st Rank) from Madras University in 1959. She began her legal career in the Madras High Court in 1955 and moved to Delhi in 1960, where she enrolled with the Supreme Court of India. Over the course of her distinguished legal career spanning more than six decades, she emerged as a fearless constitutional and public interest litigator, often taking up causes that sought to challenge established legal and political norms.

She is best known for her landmark petition in Lily Thomas v. Union of India, which led to the Supreme Court’s historic 2013 judgment striking down Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. This ruling ensured that Members of Parliament and State Legislatures convicted of crimes would be immediately disqualified from holding office, thus contributing to the decriminalization of politics in India.

Her other significant legal interventions include:

• A constitutional challenge to the Advocate-on-Record system in the Supreme Court (1964), questioning the bar on advocates from filing petitions unless they passed the AOR examination.
• A petition against religious conversion for the sole purpose of entering into a second marriage, which led to Supreme Court directions restricting such practices under personal law.
• Numerous public interest cases concerning women’s rights, constitutional accountability, and misuse of personal liberty laws.

Throughout her life, Lily Thomas remained deeply committed to legal reform and public service. A devout Roman Syrian Christian from Kerala, she practised before the Supreme Court of India until her final days—often working 8 to 10 hours a day with unwavering dedication. With the Constitution in one hand and a reformist’s conviction in the other, she led landmark legal battles that reshaped Indian jurisprudence. As an independent-minded reformer, she inspired generations of legal professionals through her integrity, scholarship, and perseverance, leaving behind a legacy rooted in justice and constitutional morality.

Her legacy is today carried forward by Advocate & Solicitor (Professor of Practice) Saju Jakob, a practising lawyer before the Supreme Court of India, with a focus on Constitutional and International Law. As her long-time associate and co-founder of the law firm Office of Lily Thomas & Saju Jakob, he continues her pioneering work in constitutional advocacy and public interest litigation. In her honour, the firm has instituted memorial lectures and national essay competitions, celebrating her enduring contributions and the transformative power of law in advancing justice and democratic values.