Eminent jurist and senior Supreme Court advocate Fali S Nariman died at the age of 95 on Wednesday morning at his Delhi home.
Nariman graduated from the Government Law College, Mumbai, in 1950, and began his practice in the Bombay High Court. He later moved to Delhi, and was appointed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) by the Indira Gandhi government.
Nariman resigned from the post in protest during the Emergency, in 1975, and continued his private practice as a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1991 and Padma Vibhusham in 2007 for his wide-ranging contributions to the country's judiciary.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to express condolences. "Shri Fali Nariman Ji was among the most outstanding legal minds and intellectuals. He devoted his life to making justice accessible to common citizens. I am pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. May his soul rest in peace," he wrote.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also posted saying, "The nation has lost a towering figure of intellect and wisdom. The country has lost an epitome of what righteousness stood for. The legal fraternity is intellectually poorer today."
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior advocate and Congress leader, called it the end of an era. He wrote on X, "End of an era - Fali Nariman passes away, a living legend who will forever be in hearts and minds of those in law and public life. Above all his diverse achievements, he stuck to his principles unwaveringly and called a spade a spade, a quality shared by his brilliant son."
Former Finance Minister and senior advocate P Chidambaram called Nariman a moral force during turbulent times. "Deeply saddened to learn that Fali Nariman, the acknowledged doyen of the Bar, passed away. He was more than a lawyer practising in Courts: he was a jurist, author, chronicler of our times and a moral force in turbulent times. I salute his memory and offer my heartfelt condolences to Justice (Retd) R F Nariman and other members of his family," he wrote.
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