Condolences poured in for former Supreme Court judge P B Sawant who died due to cardiac arrest in Pune in Maharashtra on Monday morning, with NCP chief Sharad Pawar hailing Sawant for his "valuable" contribution to ensure that courts remained autonomous in democracy.

Justice Sawant, 90, was one of the co-conveners of the Elgar Parishad conclave held on December 31, 2017 in Pune. He was also part of a panel that conducted an investigation into the 2002 Gujarat riots. He had also served as chairman of the Press Council of India.