1931
Born
Ninety years that would close with a generation of judges tracing their training to one set of chambers.
Beginning
The Trust, and all of its work, is dedicated to the loving memory of
N. Natarajan
Senior Advocate A Doyen of the Criminal Bar 1931 to 2021
The practice outlasts the practitioner.
Six decades on the criminal side of the Madras Bar. The Trust was founded by the juniors he taught, and carries his work forward by teaching.
Over eighty five juniors trained in his chambers, now on the Bench and at the front rank of the Bar
The principle he practised by
A prosecutor must first be fair.
For years he appeared against the CBI. Then the CBI engaged him as its Special Public Prosecutor in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts, which almost never happens. He opposed every bail application in that case, and still conceded, when charges came to be framed, that there was no material against some of the accused.
Beginning in 1955 he read under P. S. Kailasam, who would become Chief Justice of the Madras High Court and then a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and S. Mohan Kumaramangalam, afterwards Advocate General of Madras and a Union Minister. He became Public Prosecutor in 1975 and a Senior Advocate in 1978. There was no district court in Tamil Nadu in which he had not appeared, and his cross examination of the ballistic expert in the M. R. Radha trial is still held up as the model for examining a forensic and scientific witness.
1931
Born
1955
Enrolled
at the Bar
at the Bar
1975
Appointed
Public Prosecutor
Public Prosecutor
1978
Designated
Senior Advocate
Senior Advocate
66
Years
at the Bar
at the Bar
Nineteen thirty one to two thousand twenty one
The life, read left to right
1955
The junior's desk
Enrolled, and read as a junior under two of the most formidable men at the Madras Bar: P. S. Kailasam, afterwards Chief Justice of the Madras High Court and a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and S. Mohan Kumaramangalam, afterwards Advocate General of Madras and a Union Minister.
Pupillage
1967
The M. R. Radha trial
On the team defending the actor M. R. Radha, charged with shooting M. G. Ramachandran. His cross examination of the ballistic expert is still held up as the model for examining a forensic and scientific witness.
Defence
1975
Public Prosecutor
Appointed to conduct the State's prosecutions, the office that shaped the prosecutorial rigour he became known for.
Appointment
1978
Senior Advocate
Designated at forty seven. From here, a household name in the legal fraternity.
Designation
1993
Bombay serial blasts
The CBI engaged him as Special Public Prosecutor, which was rare, since he had so often appeared against it. He opposed every bail application, yet conceded there was no material to charge some of the accused.
Prosecution
1999
State of T.N. v. Nalini
Senior counsel before the Supreme Court for every appellant but one in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination appeals. The Court set aside all the TADA convictions and cleared nineteen of the twenty six accused of the murder conspiracy.
Defence11 May 1999
2000
The Bofors case
Counsel for the CBI when, in October 2000, it charged the Hinduja brothers with receiving 81 million Swedish kronor from AB Bofors.
Prosecution
The Chambers
Generations, taught
Juniors who went to the Bench and to the front rank of the Bar. The part of the legacy that appears in no law report.
Mentorship
2021
Rests
He died in Chennai on 11 November 2021. The then Chief Minister, Thiru. M. K. Stalin, came in person to pay homage, and sitting Members of Parliament and of the Legislative Assembly visited to pay their respects. The Bar mourned one of the country's finest cross examiners, of whom it was said there was no district court in Tamil Nadu in which he had not appeared. The Trust was founded by his juniors to carry the practice forward in the only way that outlasts a practitioner, by teaching.
Legacy
His wife and partner in practice
Ms. Ramani Natarajan
An advocate in her own right, Ms. Ramani Natarajan built an illustrious practice in constitutional law and family law. She and Thiru. N. Natarajan ran the chamber together, and their home and their office were one and the same, the house on Dr. Muniyappa Road, Kilpauk, that generations of his juniors still remember as a second home, where she is known to them all, with affection, as Amma.
What the Trust does
Four ways the work continues.
Now in its decennial year, the Trust runs a moot court, a lecture series, the scholarships that put students through law school, and sponsors law events at universities.
Moot Court Competition
A State level moot in criminal law, held with the Madras Bar Association and adjudicated by sitting judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court of Madras.
This year's editionLaw Lecture Series
Senior members of the Bar at the lectern, for students and practitioners alike. In August 2024 the series took up India's new criminal laws at the Madras High Court Advocates' Association, with Senior Advocates R. Shunmugasundaram, N. R. Elango and John Sathyan.
Sponsored students
The Trust sponsors the education of deserving students who show promise and perseverance, particularly those from backgrounds the legal profession has not always reached. It is support given in his name, in the spirit of the mentor who trained generations of lawyers.
Sponsored law events
The Trust supports law related events, seminars and competitions hosted by law universities and colleges, bringing students, the academy and the Bar together.
In memoriam
Recordings and remembrances.
Remembrance day functions, the Trust's lecture series, and the final of its moot court.
Remembrance · 37 minJustice Sunder Mohan on his seniorJustice Sunder Mohan of the High Court of Madras, who assisted him in the Rajiv Gandhi, Jain Hawala and Bombay blasts cases, speaks about the senior who trained him.Watch on YouTube
Memorial Lecture · 39 minReminiscences on his advocacyReminiscences on the advocacy of Shri. N. Natarajan, a doyen of the Bar, from the MMBA Memorial Lecture Series at the Madurai Bench, July 2023.Watch on YouTube
Remembrance · 11 minThird Remembrance DayA remembrance day function in his memory, organised by the MMBA at the Madurai Bench, November 2024.Watch on YouTube
Remembrance · 1 minFourth Remembrance DayA short film from the function marking four years since his passing.Watch on YouTube
Lecture Series · 13 minNew Criminal Laws, Part 1Senior Advocates R. Shunmugasundaram and N. R. Elango open the Trust's lecture series on India's new criminal laws, at the Madras High Court Advocates' Association.Watch on YouTube
Lecture Series · 13 minNew Criminal Laws, Part 2The second part of N. R. Elango's lecture on the new criminal laws, recorded on 30 August 2024.Watch on YouTube
Lecture Series · 13 minNew Criminal Laws, Part 3The third part of N. R. Elango's lecture on the new criminal laws.Watch on YouTube
Lecture Series · 13 minNew Criminal Laws, Part 4Senior Advocate John Sathyan takes up the new criminal laws.Watch on YouTube
Lecture Series · 13 minNew Criminal Laws, Part 5The second part of John Sathyan's lecture on the new criminal laws.Watch on YouTube
Moot Court · 1 hr 39 minMoot Court Competition 2025, FinalThe final of the State level Moot Court Competition 2025, held with the Madras Bar Association and streamed live on 21 September 2025.Watch on YouTubeThiru. N. NatarajanSenior Advocate, 1931 to 2021