The late Soli Sorabjee was so much more than a brilliant legal luminary
Soli Sorabjee
Legal eagle’ would be a tired and hackneyed phrase to describe the late Soli Sorabjee, former attorney-general, and literature lover with a passion for poetry. So then, “maybe we should not call him anything at all, instead simply put on a Miles Davis recording and raise a toast,” said senior advocate Iqbal Chagla. “This is not a time to mourn, but to celebrate his life. At 91, one has lived a very full life. Who better than Sorabjee to illustrate this? He was attorney-general twice, a great lawyer undoubtedly but more than that beyond the bar, a friend, a riveting conversationalist, a man with varied interests.”
Raju Moray, advocate
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For Chagla sounds of Soli-tude will always include memories of jazz music. “He was a jazz aficionado, I remember conversations about writers, readings from poetry which had the fizz of champagne, warm family evenings where friends take comfort in the familiar, delight in surprises. My father and he had that chemistry,” explained Chagla about family bonds.
For Chagla, Sorabjee’s varied interests – like for those who go beyond the confines of their profession however successful — gave him a 360-degree world view. Chagla said with a laugh, “To be a lawyer is one of the most uninteresting, driest of things. Sorabjee transcended that. He was also an avid race follower. He would be at the Mahalaxmi race course, years ago when in Mumbai, at the crack of dawn noting down timings, looking at the trackwork of the horses.”
For advocate Ravi Goenka, it is the three Cs that defined Soli Sorabjee best. “He was cool, calm and composed,” said Goenka. “I remember as a junior I had to go to his chamber once. I felt some trepidation but that melted with his down to earth demeanour and equanimity. He treated every lawyer like his son or daughter.”
“To those three Cs I would add others like court craft,” said solicitor Homiar N Vakil. “I recall my first appearance in the Supreme Court was with Soli Sorabjee. We were granted an unconditional stay in the matter. That was solely due to his court craft and consummate skill. His expertise in constitutional law was tremendous. He also fought the case for Zoroastrian societies where housing societies could be formed for a particular religion or group.” In the end, Vakil said, “he had a sense of humour often ribbing you good naturedly. A man with jest and zest for life has left us with a very inspiring legacy.”
Advocate Raju Moray remembers meeting Soli Sorabjee at the latter’s Delhi bungalow in the 1990s one cold, January morning. “He was dressed in his night suit with a silken dressing gown and I remember then too, there was such an aura about him, absolutely regal and impressive.” Moray said he had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with reference to allotment of plots to municipal/government schools, and Sorabjee was the lead counsel in the crucial admission stage.
He said, “The Supreme Court ruled in our favour, and I remember his tremendous power of persuasion, his absolute grasp of the subject as he explained the matter in two minutes.”
Moray said labels like ‘legend’ are used too lightly these days. “But Sorabjee is certainly legendary. We saw first-hand the ability to remember so many cases, to perform like this, it is truly extraordinary. It is then that you understand why these persons earn the reputation that they have. Legal groups on WhatsApp have been buzzing with messages since morning, and in a digital world these are also the measure of the man. Like some, unique persons, they grow to become massive trees that give shade and succour to so many,” he said.
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