Notes on life and law by the timeless— Soli Sorabjee
Written by Ranjit Malhotra
The birthday card sent by the Sorabjee family proudly announced the celebration of the evergreen Soli J Sorabjee’s 91st birthday, and the launch of a Festschrift in his honor.
The venerable and distinguished former Attorney General of India needs no introduction. The place. Your much loved and dear second home in Delhi. The International Center of India. This was on the night of March 9, 2021.
Unfortunately, his birthday celebration last year, which was scheduled for March 17, had to be postponed in light of Covid-19 and he was quite disappointed by the same.
It is very difficult to describe such an iconic personality as him. First of all, he is a wonderful human being. We all know him as a jurist, a man of law, an immaculate orator with a sparkling sense of humor peppered with such silky delicacy.
Those of his friends who are closely associated with him appreciate his compassion and empathy for humanity. Many music lovers adore him as a jazz fan. And of course the list is endless. It can easily be extended to Daunt’s, one of your favorite bookstores on Marylebone High Street in London, and Blackwell’s, Oxford’s famous bookstore if
no more.
The highlight of the magnificent celebrations was a powerful and fascinating 45 minute book discussion chaired by Justice RF Nariman, Honorable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. Only two people sat on the podium in the CII multipurpose room.
The young birthday boy and Judge Nariman, chairman of the minutes of the book launch. In fact, much more than that. Judge Nariman very eloquently carved fond memories of Mr. Sorabjee’s illustrious lifetime entries into the Bar and fond personal memories of close friends deeply associated with him from his very young college days and of yore.
Given time constraints, the judicial rider deftly navigated picking cherries with a jeweler’s approach from the reminiscent portion of the book. The audience was seated with great attention and the room echoed with laughter at frequent intervals as they recalled hilarious moments in Mr. Sorabjee’s illustrious journey thus far.
Clearly, Mr. Sorabjee was also catapulted into the era of his glorious journey both in and out of the courtroom. Bringing so much happiness to his face and occasionally nudging the honorable judge very gently. Taking the steer to more anecdotes from the golden age.
But what was so moving was the electrifying elucidation of Mr. Sorabjee’s journey from his youth as a law student at Bombay Law School and recalling the collective strength and contribution of his equally illustrious colleagues.
From the high-octane discussion, it is clear that the legends of the Bombay legal world, which at one point later made Delhi their home, were actually the royal pillars of the Honorable Supreme Court of India.
Like the basic structure doctrine, constantly contributing to landmark decisions, important jurisprudence, and setting a very high bar for the legal world.
The conclusion of the proceedings led to light jokes with Mr. Sorabjee telling the president that his age could be well set at 65 years. Then came the book launch. Indeed, it was a supreme privilege to witness such an eloquent book discussion.
The preface of the book by the distinguished young author informs the reader that this book contains his articles and speeches delivered by him over a period of time with a very significant caveat: “It will be a useful reading for judges, practicing lawyers, professors and teachers of law and my critics “.
In fact, the book fits very well into a biography. In fact, this treatise is an unrivaled rich harvest of the rich experience and wisdom of a golden generation.
Certainly, being illustrated by this rare compendium is a must for every law student. Young and not so young too. Such powerful reflections will not be taught in any law school or courtroom.
The first 484 pages of the book are carefully divided into the author’s brilliant analytical work analyzing the following areas of law: freedom of speech and expression, fundamental rights and duties, human rights, a subject very close to his heart, Constitution of India . , rule of law, judiciary, democracy, Supreme Court of India and your favorite high court, the High Court of Bombay.
Pages 485-517 focus on fond memories of our priceless young gem of the deeply revered Parsi community.
Coming to the other end of the prism, there are 25 short chapters such as Reminiscences ranging from pages 523 to 567 of the book, mostly eminent personalities in the legal profession who have a close personal association with him.
The icing on the cake is the photographic memoirs on pages 569 to 576. Upon reaching the cake, the IIC chef had prepared a chocolate cake with a law book and an elegant brown edible mallet firmly placed on top.
Before saying goodbye. I will plagiarize the conclusion of my little article on pages 562 – 563 of the book: “He is an unequaled multidisciplinary sommelier of delicacy. Not just a Silk. But silky and flawless. Unfortunately, his tribe cannot increase. It’s like the Ambassador car. It is no longer manufactured at all. If there were a Nobel laureate in law, the jury would have a cake baked before them. And now I rest my case. ”
(The author has contributed a chapter in the Reminiscences portion of the book)
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.