PM Narendra Modi 'saddened' over 'outstanding lawyer' Soli Sorabjee's demise

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30 said he is “saddened” by the demise of veteran lawyer and former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee. The 91-year-old jurist was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Delhi after contracting COVID-19 and he succumbed earlier in the morning. While taking to Twitter, PM Modi termed Sorabjee as an “outstanding lawyer and intellectual” and further added that he will be remembered for his noteworthy tenures. 

Soli Sorabjee, a Padma Vibhushan recipient, began his legal practice in 1953 at the Bombay High Court and was designated senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 1971. He became the attorney general of India first from 1989-90 and then from 1998-2004. The veteran jurist was a strong advocate of freedom of speech and had defended freedom of the press in many landmark cases in the Supreme Court.

Following his demise, Home Minister Amit Shah also condoled his demise, saying that he would always be remembered for his contribution in the field of constitutional law. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana remembered veteran lawyer and said “his humane and compassionate approach defined his legal work. His body of work, spread over nearly seven decades, in defending the fundamental rights and human rights is of international repute”. President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed condolences to the family and friends of Sorabjee. 

Former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee no more

Sorabjee played an instrumental role in revoking censorship orders and bans on publications. His publications on this subject include The Laws of Press Censorship in India (1976); The Emergency, Censorship and the Press in India, 1975-77. A renowned human rights lawyer, he was appointed by the United Nations as a Special Rapporteur for Nigeria in 1997 to report on the human rights situation in that country. He went on to become a member and chairman of the UN Sub Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights from 1998 to 2004.

In March 2002, Sorabjee was honoured with the second-highest civilian award in India for his defence of freedom of speech and the protection of human rights. Notably, Soli Sorabjee had termed the Centre's decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as unwise. “I don’t think there is anything revolutionary here. It’s a political decision, even though it is not a wise decision,” he had said.