Renowned Indian jurist and former Attorney General of India Soli Jehangir Sorabjee passed away on Friday, 30 April, at the age of 91 after reportedly losing the battle to COVID-19. He was admitted to a private hospital in Delhi. Sorabjee served as the Solicitor General of India from 1977 to 1980 and as the attorney-general from December 1989 to December 1990, and then again from 1998 to 2004.
One of the most prominent human rights lawyers of the country, Sorabjee fought many high-profile cases through the years, including pro-bono cases for the families of the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Sorabjee began his legal practice in 1953 in Bombay High Court and he was designated senior counsel of the Supreme Court in 1971. 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. Following this, he became a member and later chairman of the UN Sub Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights from 1998 to 2004. He was honored with the Padma Vibhushan award–the second-highest civilian award in India in March 2002 for his defence of freedom of speech and the protection of human rights.
