New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday held a full court reference to pay homage to former Union law minister Hansraj Bhardwaj, ex-Bar Council of India chairman Suraj Narain Prasad Sinha, and senior lawyer and former vice-chairman of the Law Commission N M Ghatate.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana, other apex court judges, and Attorney General K K Venugopal were among those who paid tribute to the departed souls at the reference held in the auditorium of the new apex court premises.

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A full court reference is held for departed judges of the apex court and senior advocates as a mark of respect and remembrance for their service to the court and the legal profession.

"My Brother and Sister Judges join me in conveying our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of Dr Hansraj Bharadwaj, Shri Suraj Narayan Prasad Sinha, and Dr N M Ghatate. We pray to the Almighty to give them strength to bear this irreparable loss.," CJI Ramana said in the full court reference.

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Attorney General K K Venugopal and Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Vikas Singh also paid homage to the former judges.

Dr Bhardwaj was born on May 17, 1937 and his journey in the legal profession began in the year 1960 when he completed his LL.B. and enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi as an advocate.

"With time, Dr Bhardwaj's inclination to politics led him to become a legal advisor to the late Smt. Indira Gandhi. By 1971, his steady success in the profession was noticed and he was appointed as Additional Public Prosecutor in Delhi. He was engaged to defend several high-profile figures, including prominent political leaders.

"In 1982, Dr Bhardwaj became a Member of the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. In January 1985, both his professional worlds of politics and law merged as he was appointed as the Minister of State for Law & Justice in Shri Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet," Ramana said.

Dr Bhardwaj went on to be appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice after the general elections in 2004, he said.

"During his tenure, Dr Bhardwaj was at the helm of various legislative reforms – including rights of women in property, right to information, right to rural employment guarantee, reservation for women, access to justice, and digitization of the judicial system.

"He was widely credited with upholding the principle of separation of powers and judicial autonomy and independence which is central to our structure of governance. Dr. Bhardwaj was forward-thinking and played a crucial role in laying the foundation for the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution in 1996...

"Dr. Bhardwaj was very close to my heart. Whenever he was in Hyderabad, I had the privilege of sharing filter coffee with him. I shall cherish the warmth and affection that he had showered on me. He left for his heavenly abode on March 8, 2020," Ramana said.

Sinha was born on July 23, 1930, and in 1957, he joined the Bar as a civil practitioner in Samastipur in Bihar.

"He was deeply committed to the legal profession and making the law accessible to all was his motto. He was at the forefront of opening a law college in his hometown Samastipur in 1978.

"He was first elected as a member of the Bihar Bar Council in 1985 and since then, he never lost an election in the State Bar Council.

After practising in the Patna High Court for ten years, he was designated a Senior Advocate. He was then elected Chairperson of the Bar Council of India in 2008," Ramana said.

Sinha breathed his last on July 24, 2020.

Dr Ghatate was born on July 21, 1937, and was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in 1989.

"Dr. Ghatate has argued before this Court in several landmark constitutional cases, such as ADM Jabalpur, A.K. Roy, and Gajanan Bapat. In Charles Sobhraj v. Union of India, he argued for the vital need of prison reforms. He also appeared in the celebrated case of Ram Bahadur Rai in 1975 regarding the extent of the right to peaceful protest in a democracy," the CJI said.

Dr. Ghatate became the Vice-Chairman of the Law Commission in the year 2003.

"His affinity for the law is witnessed through his writings. He has authored several books such as 'Death under the Shadow of Judiciary' and 'India's Disarmament Policy', and numerous other articles. Dr. N.M. Ghatate left for his heavenly abode on January 24, 2021," Ramana said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)