Sir Mota Singh, the eldest of six children, was born in Nairobi, Kenya on July 26, 1930. At the age of 16, he tragically lost his father and became the head of the family. Academically gifted, he vowed to himself not to be distracted by the tragedy and make a success of his life. After matriculating, he worked as a clerk in a firm of solicitors and at the same time started a part-time, correspondence course for the Bar exams. He got married in 1951 and two years later set sail, with his wife and one-year-old daughter, to England for the Bar finals. In England too he worked during day and studied part-time. After passing the Bar finals in 1955, he returned to Kenya and a year later started his own legal practice.
Mota Singh soon built up a reputation as a promising young barrister and was often complimented by the Judges. Despite the prospect of a bright career in Kenya, and with the imponderable difficulties of practising at the English Bar, Mota Singh decided to migrate to England in 1966. He managed, not without difficulty, in securing tenancy at a Barrister's Chambers in London. In his first case, he successfully defended an English gentleman on a drinking and driving charge. The case was internationally reported. The Times described Mota Singh as “a Sikh barrister with impeccable Temple (Inn of Court) accent”. He became a much sought-after professional and a leading specialist in the “Landlord and Tenant” branch of law. In 1968, he successfully argued an appeal, considered to be a lost cause, in the Court of Appeal. The decision in the case remains as Case Law to this day.
Mota was appointed Chairman of the Rent Assessment Panel and an Examiner of the Supreme Court. In 1968, the Home Secretary appointed him to the newly created Race Relations Board which he served for the next 12 years.
Mota Singh’s meticulous preparation of his cases and his advocacy skills were often complimented by the judges he would appear before. He took silk in 1976 and in 1980 made English legal history by being the first from ethnic minorities to be appointed a Judge in England. He was based at the Southwark Crown Court, and some years later, was one of the four Judges at that Court nominated by the Lord Chancellor to try serious fraud cases. He ended up being the Deputy Presiding Judge there.
After 22 years, he retired from the Bench in 2002. And on his last day, as the judicial tradition has it, his court room was packed with well-wishing Appeal Court and High Court Judges, the DPP, barristers who had appeared before him over the years and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Wolf, to pay him tributes. Mota Singh was knighted in 2012 for his services to the legal profession.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
(Varinder Singh is the brother of Sir Mota Singh)
