Defending Indian Lawyers in the Small Cause Court (1862)

Until the mid-1850s, legal practice in Mumbai was dominated by expensive European barristers, leaving poor Indians without affordable legal representation. Nana had already fought to establish the "Perry Professorship of Jurisprudence" in 1855 to provide formal legal education to Indians. By 1860, a new class of Indian lawyers had begun practicing in the Small Cause Court, charging affordable fees and breaking the European monopoly.

In 1862, a new bill was introduced in the Legislative Council that deliberately omitted any legal recognition or fee protection for these new Indian lawyers, effectively leaving them at the whim of European judges who could ban them from practicing. Nana immediately recognized this as a covert attempt by the European legal elite to crush Indian competition.

He introduced a fierce amendment to protect the rights of Indian lawyers. When European members like Sir W. Mansfield argued that recognizing native lawyers would "trivialize the law," Nana fought back, presenting data from Calcutta and proving that Indian lawyers were essential for the poor. Through sheer legislative maneuvering, Nana forced the council to amend the bill, securing legal recognition and protection for the first generation of Indian legal professionals.