The bug had bitten these were the words of Soli Jehangir Sorabjee when he first listened to presumably unlabeled or mislabeled record. “It happened to be ‘Tiger Rag’ by the Benny Goodman Trio. And since then, Mr. Sorabjee became a passionate and lifelong jazz fan along with one of India’s leading jurists, a twotime attorney general, a constitutional expert and a champion of free speech.

Born in 1930 in Bombay, his roots were raised from a well-off Parsi family. At the age of 20 Soli Sorabjee lost his father, Jehangir Sorabjee who was a distinguished businessman while his mother Khorshed Sorabjee was a housewife. Even though he was born in a moneyed family he was never lured by the business career. He studied at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and obtained his law degree from Government Law College, Mumbai

Sorabjee’s interest in the Constitution began as a law student, when India had just been declared a Republic. An alumnus of the Government Law College, he commenced his legal practice in 1953 in Bombay High Court. Being a great legal scholar, as soon as Sorabjee entered the bar, his learning, and eloquence made him eminent. He possessed clear discernment and deep learning of law. With a stretch of numerous accomplishments at the Bar he was designated as a senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 1971. As put by Sorabjee himself, he had no “Godfather in the profession” therefore he understood first-hand the importance of mentoring juniors and encouraging younger lawyers. He was a highly confident speaker with a resolute faith in the constitutional ideals peculiarly those relating to the freedom of speech and human rights. Sorabjee was a guardian of civil rights and liberties during the time of emergency as he provided legal guidance to the political prisoners from 1975 to 1977. He was also engaged in cases to protect the rights of minorities. He became the attorney general of India twice, first from 1989-90 and then from 1998-2004.

Being a renowned human rights lawyer. He was appointed by the UN as a Special Rapporteur for Nigeria, in 1997, to report on the human rights situation in that country. Following this, he become a member and later Chairman of the UN-Sub Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, from 1998 to 2004. He also served as member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006. Soli Sorabjee was a champion of freedom of speech and expression. He has defended freedom of press in many landmark cases in the Supreme Court of India and has been instrumental in revoking censorship orders and bans on publications. Sorabjee was also honored with the Padma Vibhushan award, the second highest civilian award in India, in March 2002 for his defense of freedom of speech and the protection of human rights. Sorabjee had many passions in life and in the law. Principal among them were the Constitution and the Supreme Court whose founding he bore witness to and whose evolution paralleled his own professional career of seventy years.

Sorabjee’s endowment in legal jurisprudence and contribution to the Supreme Court in various remarkable cases will forever be treasured and remembered. He contended emulously to use constitutional principles to settle contemporary problems of politics and governance.