Noted lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani on Sunday said he has been nominated to Rajya Sabha. His father Ram Jethmalani, a renowned lawyer who fought several high-profile cases, was also a Rajya Sabha member. "I have been intimated about my nomination to Rajya Sabha," Jethmalani told PTI.

The tenure of Mahesh Jethmalani -- one of the leading lawyers of the country, as Rajya Sabha MP would be till May 2024. Mahesh Jethmalani was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the past. He has also been a member of the National Executive of the BJP.

In 2012, Mahesh resigned from the BJP's National Executive, protesting against the then national BJP President Nitin Gadkari. Last year, there were talks of Mahesh going to Rajya Sabha from the nominated quota, although retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was nominated then.

Mahesh Jethmalani is a senior advocate at Bombay High Court. He completed his Bachelor of Arts from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and his Master of Arts from Oxford University. He had conducted and had assisted in the trial of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra AR Antulay, the trial of Harshad Mehta in the Maruti Udyog case. He also appeared for Rajni Patil in the Professor Vishram Patil murder case in which the brother of ex-President of India, Pratibha Patil, was a suspect.

Mahesh Jethmalani's nomination came days after two seats in the nominated category became vacant — Swapan Dasgupta resigned from the upper house in March this year after the BJP fielded him as a candidate in the West Bengal assembly elections and Raghunath Mohapatra succumbed to COVID-19 earlier this month.

The President of India, on advice of the Union government, can nominate 12 members to Rajya Sabha. The nominated members are drawn from fields such as literature, science, sports, art, and social service.

(With agency inputs)