Sadhan Gupta

Sadhan Chandra Gupta (November 7, 1917 – September 19, 2015) was an Indian lawyer and politician. Gupta became the first blind parliamentarian in independent India in 1953, and later served as Advocate General of West Bengal.

Gupta was born in Dacca on the eve of the October Revolution, on November 7, 1917. His father, Jogesh Chandra Gupta, was a lawyer at the Calcutta High Court and a leader of the Indian National Congress. Sadhan Gupta became permanently blind after suffering from smallpox during his childhood. Gupta went to school at the Calcutta Blind School. Later he studied at Presidency College (Economics, graduated with honours) and Calcutta University (Law). He became involved in radical politics during his student days, joining the Communist Party of India in 1939. He served as president of the Bengal Provincial Students Federation.

Gupta enrolled as a lawyer at the Calcutta High Court in 1942. As a young lawyer, he took up many cases regarding persons under preventive detenion. He attained nationwide fame when arguing in the 1945 habeas corpus case "Emperor vs Shibnath Banerjee", first in the Calcutta High Court and thereafter in the Federal Court of India. His actions of in the "Emperor vs Shibnath Banerjee" case provoked praise from Mahatma Gandhi. In 1947 he joined the Bar at Middle Temple.

Gupta contested the Calcutta South East seat in the 1951–1952 election, challenging Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee. Gupta finished in third place with 32,168 votes (22.24%). Gupta was elected to the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament of India) from the Calcutta South East constituency in a 1953 by-election, held after Mukherjee died. Gupta received 58,211 votes (55.24%). He thus became the first blind parliamentarian in independent India. In the election he had defeated Radhabinod Pal, who was a senior lawyer.

...
Wikipedia