Soli Sorabjee

Soli Jehangir Sorabjee, AM (born 9 March 1930) is an Indian jurist and former Attorney-General of India. He has been honored with Padma Vibhushan for his defense of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights. Sorabjee has held several offices in organizations of national and international repute.

Soli Sorabjee was born on 9 March 1930 in Bombay. He studied at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and Government Law College, Mumbai, was admitted to the bar in 1953. At Government Law College, he was awarded the Kinloch Forbes Gold Medal in Roman Law and Jurisprudence (1952).

In 1971, Sorabjee was designated Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India. He served as Solicitor-General of India from 1977 to 1980. He was appointed Attorney-General of India on 7 April 1998, a post he held until 2004.

In March 2002, Soli Sorabjee was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his defense of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights. He worked on the Citizen's Justice Committee which represented pro bono the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims.

In March 2006 he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM), "for service to Australia-India bilateral legal relations".

Some of the other important cases he has appeared for are: Keshavananda Bharati, Maneka Gandhi, S.R. Bommai, I.R. Coelho, etc. He recently appeared in the case of B.P. Singhal, where the Apex Court held that Governors could not be dismissed without due cause.

Soli J. Sorabjee was a close friend and colleague of Nanabhoy ("Nani") Palkhivala. Sorabjee's daughter, Zia Mody, is also a lawyer and partner at AZB & Partners, one of the leading law firms in India. Zia Mody is the author of the book 10 Judgements that Changed India. Sorabjee has a granddaughter, named Anjali Mody.

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