BCI confers inaugural Vidhi Ratna award on five legal luminaries

The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday bestowed the first of the newly launched BCI Vidhi Ratna award upon five legal luminaries in recognition of their significant contributions to the field of law..Senior Advocates K Parasaran, Fali S Nariman, KK Venugopal, Ram Jethmalani, and Soli J Sorabjee received the inaugural BCI Vidhi Ratna award. Jethmalani and Sorabjee were honored posthumously..K Parasaran served as the Advocate General (AG) of Tamil Nadu during the period of President's rule in 1976. Later, he held the position of Solicitor General of India (SG) under Indira Gandhi government. Subsequently, he became the Attorney General for India (AG), serving under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi from 1983 until the end of Rajiv Gandhi's tenure in 1989..Fali S Nariman is one of India's most distinguished Constitutional lawyers and has argued several leading cases. He served as an Additional Solicitor General from May 1972 to June 1975..KK Venugopal assumed the position of Attorney General for India on July 1, 2017, retiring from this role on September 30, 2022. Venugopal also is a patron of SAARCLAW, a regional apex body of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and has previously served as its President. Additionally, he is the founder of the MK Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre for Advanced Legal Studies at the NALSAR University, Hyderabad..Ram Jethmalani was an Indian lawyer and politician who held various significant positions during his illustrious career. He has served as India's Union Minister of Law and Justice, Chairman of the Indian Bar Council, and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).Jethmalani secured his LL.B. degree at the age of 17 and commenced his legal practice in his hometown, Shikarpur. However, the partition of India compelled him to become a refugee and relocate to Mumbai, where he embarked on a new chapter in his life and career.Jethmalani's remarkable contributions were acknowledged when he received the Human Rights Award from World Peace Through Law in 1977. Additionally, he authored several notable books, including "Big Egos, Small Men," "Conscience of a Maverick," and "Maverick: Unchanged, Unrepentant," among others. He also co-authored scholarly legal works covering various fields of law..Soli J Sorabjee was designated as a senior advocate of the Bombay High Court in 1971. He served as the Solicitor General of India from 1977 to 1980. Sorabjee was appointed as the AG on December 9, 1989, and served in this role until December 2, 1990, and then again from April 7, 1998, until 2004..The awards were handed out at the valedictory ceremony of the International Lawyers' Conference organised by the BCI in New Delhi over the weekend.Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the awards to Nariman and Venugopal, while Parasaran's award was accepted by his son, Senior Advocate Satish Parasaran.Sorabjee's award was accepted by his wife and son and Jethmalani's award was received by Mahesh Jethmalani's junior.Shah expressed pride for having presented the awards, stating, "I am proud to have presented the awards to the dignitaries I presented them to today. Any person with the knowledge of law in this country will name these 5 people first for the award," he said. .Chairman of the BCI, Senior Advocate Manan Mishra announced that the award will be bestowed upon at least five legal luminaries every year."Bar Council of India has decided that every year, five legal luminaries - the number may increase - will be felicitated with the life achievement award, namely the Bar Council of India Vidhi Ratna award," he announced.