Soli Sorabjee: “Persuasive advocate of individual liberties”, “voice of sanity”

Former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee passed away on Friday at the age of 91 after contracting the coronavirus He had been receiving treatment at a private hospital in South DelhiBorn in Mumbai in 1930 Soli started his career at the Bombay High Court in 1953 An expert of constitutional law he fought the landmark Keshavananda Bharati IR Coehlo and SR Bommai cases among others He is remembered for having successfully represented at no charge many newspapers and magazines that had come in conflict with the censors during the Emergency in 1975 Known for his work on human rights Sorabjee was appointed by the UN as a special rapporteur for Nigeria to report on the human rights conditions in the country in 1997 From 19982004 he also became the chairman of the UN subcommittee on the Protection and Promotion of Human RightsldquoHe was an extraordinary lawyer His contributions in the field of individual liberties are something that will always be remembered by the people who were close to these causesrdquo said lawyer and politician Kapil Sibal who knew him closely ldquoI donrsquot think there has been any lawyer who has been as persuasive in the matters of personal liberty And of course extremely pleasant Whenever he would meet me he would ask me about my children familyrdquo Sibal recalledldquoCivil liberties and fundamental rights mattered a lot to him He was a voice of sanity It is a big lossrdquo reiterated Jehangir Patel editor of Parsiana a Mumbaibased community magazine Patel first became acquainted with Sorabjee and his commitment to democracy in 1975 when Patel was working as a publisher and assistant editor with statesman and politician Minoo Masani on the magazine lsquoFreedom Firstrsquo ldquoWhen the Emergency was declared Masani filed a petition in the Bombay High Court saying the Centre canrsquot have unlimited rights Soli fought the case for us probono and wonrdquo he remembered ldquoHe was always very supportive of the Parsi community He was very affable very down to earth and had no pretentionsrdquoSoli Sorabjee extreme left in the middle rowThis is Union Committee of Government Law College 195051 Pic Courtesy Rajan JayakarThe Supreme Court also paid homage to Sorabjee A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and justices Surya Kant and AS Bopanna just before the start of the days court proceedings via video conference said ldquoIt a very sad news that human rights fighter Soli has passed away this morning We pray for the gentle soulrdquoSorabjee had been an important mentor figure for many ldquoHe was one of the biggest mentors under whose protective shade many talents were nurtured His chamber juniors include Harish Salve Uday Lalit among many other advocatesrdquo senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde noted Rajan Jayakar a Mumbaibased solicitor and historian agreed terming Sorabjeersquos passing as a ldquocolossal lossrdquo He recalled that Sorabjee actively attended public meetings during the Emergency where he encouraged young lawyers including Jayakar to speak their mindBesides the law Sorabjee was fascinated by jazz He was among the leading organisers of the annual Jazz Yatra a weeklong music festival which was held every year from 1978 to 2003 ldquoHe showed how essential it was to have a life outside the legal practice He was the foremost proponent of jazz in India had an amazing taste in literature and was an amazing raconteur of storiesrdquo Hedge added In 2002 Sorabjee was conferred the Padma Vibhushan the secondhighest civilian honour in the country He is survived by his wife Zena Sorabjee and three childrenA few expressed their condolences on Twitter as wellSoli Sorabjee a legal giant of our time passed away today after some days in hospital due to Covid He was a good friend amp very affectionate The photo is of when my father amp I visited him 4 months back pictwittercom3ErZYXUitsmdash Prashant Bhushan pbhushan1 April 30 2021Saddened by news that former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee has passed away after a recent bout of Covid A man of uncommon ability amp integrity he stood for principled public values And we shared a birthday A giant has departed RIP Soli httpstco9YWxqllI7Jmdash Shashi Tharoor ShashiTharoor April 30 2021With inputs from PTI