[1] Born in Penang to Sikh Punjabi Indian immigrant parents, Karpal studied law at the National University of Singapore.

A 2005 motor-vehicle accident put Karpal in a wheelchair, with neuro-motor problems in his right arm, but he continued his legal and political careers.

Karpal studied at St. Xavier's Institution[3][4] and received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the National University of Singapore,[2] where he was the president of the student union.

[2] After failing his final-year courses, the dean made him sit at the front of his classes; according to Karpal, "I couldn't play the fool anymore and I passed my exams accordingly!

"[8] Universiti Teknologi MARA law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi praised Karpal's legal team for their innovative interpretations, which helped defendants with difficult cases.

"[4] In 2006, Karpal represented two sisters who were charged with allegedly masterminding the murder of their Australian stepfather Hans Herzog, who was killed by two male teenagers in a parang attack at his Kuala Lumpur home in 2003.

[16] The sisters were later acquitted without their defence being called, and Karpal would later represent one of the two hired hitmen in his appeal in 2009, which ended with the boy, who was 17 at the time of the crime, to be convicted for murder and detained indefinitely at the Selangor Sultan's pleasure.

[21] In September 1999, he produced a pathological report confirming high levels of arsenic in Anwar's body and accused authorities of poisoning him: "It could well be that someone out there wants to get rid of him ... even to the extent of murder ...

[32][33] In the 1999 election, Karpal lost the Jelutong parliamentary seat he had held for 21 years, and DAP leader Lim Kit Siang was also defeated.

A report by the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee gave Karpal three days to apologise or face a six-month suspension.

[45] The election saw historic gains for the opposition, who denied the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) a two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time.

[49] In December of that year, he and opposition members of parliament Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali and Sivarasa Rasiah were suspended for six months.

[52] At the DAP national conference in January 2012, Karpal joined Ramasamy and asked the party's "warlords and godfathers [to] stand together against Barisan Nasional.

[2] He criticised the legal immunity granted to the hereditary Malay rulers in the original constitution, which was removed by Mahathir Mohamad government in 1993.

[56] Karpal was a controversial figure, and he and fellow DAP politician Lim Kit Siang have been referred to as racial provocateurs.

[13] He criticised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the Dewan Rakyat for allegedly assaulting two men who were brought to the palace by police, which sparked demands for an apology from members of Parliament; Karpal refused.

[59] Moments later, Karpal was mocked by Ibrahim Ali and Bung Moktar Radin for his inability to stand while speaking as a result of his disability (provoking a furore among opposition members).

[61] He and a number of other opposition politicians were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act during Operation Lalang in October 1987 for inciting "racial tension" in Malaysia.

[22] Karpal was released for several hours in March 1988 in response to a habeas corpus application before being rearrested and imprisoned until January 1989.

[64][65] The charges were dismissed in June 2010 after the High Court determined that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case.

His daughter, Sangeet Kaur works in his law firm and his youngest son, Man Karpal studied actuarial science.

The accident left Karpal with sensory impairment and reduced motor strength, and he was unable to walk or raise his right arm more than a few centimeters.

Karpal's Toyota Alphard collided with the right side of a slow-moving, five-tonne Mitsubishi Canter lorry carrying cement, steel, and tiles.

Although the lorry driver (identified as Abu Mansor Mohd) tested positive for cannabis, it was uncertain if he was under influence at the time of the accident.

[73] According to Bukit Aman traffic-police chief SAC Mohd Fuad Abdul Latiff, road conditions and the weather were good at the time of the accident.

[73] Karpal's funeral was held on 20 April 2014 with full state honors in Penang, attended by his Family, Prime Minister Najib Razak and other mourners.

[74] His body reached the Batu Gantong Crematorium, George Town, Penang at 1:35 pm and was cremated after thousands of mourners chanted his name.