Former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, died of Covid-19, this morning. A senior lawyer and Padma Vibhushan recipient, Soli Sorabjee was being treated at a private hospital in Delhi. He was 91 years old.
Soli Jehangir Sorabjee was born in Mumbai on March 9, 1930. He was a student at the prestigious Government Law College in Mumbai. Started his law practice in 1953 in the Bombay High Court. In 1971, he was appointed as senior counsel by the Supreme Court. The legal titan was involved in many historic Supreme Court cases and argued for free speech and press freedom. Mr. Sorabjee was also involved in the Kesavananda Bharti case that sought to protect the basic structure of the Constitution. During the Emergency of 1975 urged by Indira Gandhi’s Congress government, Mr. Sorabjee emerged as a fierce defender of human rights and media freedoms. He became Attorney General in 1989. He joined the UN Sub-Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and was its chairman from 1998 to 2004, also a member of the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
A prolific writer, he was known for his love for Jazz; he was one of the founders of the Jazz Yatra concert series. Jazz musicians held an online concert in his honor, last year when India was in lockdown.
Soli Sorabjee’s legal legacy lives on in his daughter Zia Mody, who is one of India’s top corporate lawyers. One of his sons, Jehangir, is a doctor and the other, Hormuzd, a car expert.
Many, from the Prime Minister to the Chief Justice of India express their grief on the legend’s demise. “Soli J Sorabjee served the office of Attorney General of India twice with great distinction. His humane and compassionate approach defined his legal work. His body of work, spread over nearly seven decades, in defending fundamental rights and human rights is of international repute. He will be remembered as a legend who added strength to the pillars of democracy,” said Chief Justice Ramanna. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Mr. Sorabjee as an outstanding lawyer and intellectual. His tweet reads “Through law, he was at the forefront of helping the poor and downtrodden. He will be remembered for his noteworthy tenures India’s Attorney General. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers.”
Shri Soli Sorabjee was an outstanding lawyer and intellectual. Through law, he was at the forefront of helping the poor and downtrodden. He will be remembered for his noteworthy tenures India’s Attorney General. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2021
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