"Offered free service to 1984 riot victims:" Tributes pour in for Soli Sorabjee, Ashok Desai

Attorney General for India KK Venugopal on Friday recalled how late Senior Advocate and former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee offered free service to families affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots..Venugopal was speaking at a full court reference in memory of Sorabjee and another former Attorney General Senior Advocate late Ashok Desai..He spoke of how Sorabjee had called for a culture of tolerance to be developed. "A dissenter must be protected against penal action by fanatical groups. His view was tolerance was foremost fundamental duty of all citizens," the AG said on the late legal luminary who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his services rendered in defending the freedom of expression and protecting human rights."While there is much to admire about him, the one thing was his enormous love for justice," the AG added in his tribute to Sorabjee.On Ashok Desai, the AG spoke of how he is a celebrated figure and that "his cherished memory gives us the strength to bear the loss of his departure." .Senior Advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh also spoke on the occasion. "Mr Ashok Desai was Ashok Bhai for us. He appeared in number of cases dealing with accountability in public life. He agitated the courts against the evil of pre-censorship," Singh said. Singh recalled Desai's stint as a legal correspondent for Times of India in his early years, before he pursued law and was eventually designated as a Senior Advocate.On the former Attorney General, he said: "Mr Soli Sorabjee was a stalwart warrior of humanity. He practiced till the very end. He contributed heavily in developing the constitutional jurisprudence. He was never drawn towards commercial career even when he belonged to a successful business family. Mr Sorabjee provided assistance to many political prisoners. His heart ached against the suspension of fundamental rights. He was in the case which upheld rights of minority institutions to maintain the character of their institutions." Chief Justice of India NV Ramana also expressed "profound grief at the passing away of the two legal doyens of the Bar."He added that it would be difficult to "encapsulate the entire life lived by the two legends."The CJI recalled when Sorabjee was a junior assisting Nani Palkhivala in the Menaka Gandhi case, saying that "Mr Sorabjee had in-depth legal acumen" even then. The CJI spoke of how the late Senior Advocate was internationally renowned for his protection of human rights."I had briefed Mr Sorabjee as a lawyer few times. I briefed him first in 1988 and he knew all details. He asked me the same questions which bench asked during hearing. The experience was unparalleled," CJ Ramana said. The CJI spoke about how Desai donned many hats: "He was a journalist, a teacher and was also designated both Advocate General and Solicitor General. He was recipient of several honours. He always valued moral principles and believed that means are as important as means."The full court also observed two minutes' silence in the memory of the departed souls. .Follow our coverage of the reference: