As India approached its independence, a poignant gesture unfolded quietly in Bombay. At 11:59 PM on August 14, 1947, Sir Leonard Stone, the last British Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, addressed judges, staff, and their families in the court’s central hall. At the midnight hour while Jawaharlal Nehru delivered his soul-stirring “Tryst with Destiny” speech in Delhi Stone unfurled the new Indian Tricolour, paused for a minute of silent prayer, and saluted, earning respectful bows from his colleagues.

This act wasn’t just ceremonial it echoed with deeper significance. Stone, serving since 1943 and departing shortly thereafter, declared he was proud to raise the banner of independence atop that historic court, symbolizing both an end and a beginning. In that still moment, British judicial authority gave way not in conflict but in a rare, shared spirit of cooperationpresaging the peaceful transition that followed. While Nehru’s public flag-hoisting at the Red Fort remains etched in national memory, Stone’s midnight salute in Bombay still resonates as a quietly powerful homage to the dawn of a new nation.