Rajani Iyer, 69, one of the five designated women senior advocates at the Bombay High Court, passed away on Thursday. She was not keeping well for some time.
In 2006, after nearly three decades of legal practice, Iyer was designated as senior advocate by the HC. Only four other women advocates — Indira Jaising, Phiroza Anklesaria, Gayatri Singh and Anarkali Keni — have been designated as senior advocates.
As news of her demise spread, condolences started pouring in from the legal fraternity who remembered her as a feisty opponent and protector of the interests of the weaker sections.
Justice Gautam Patel said, “In every way that counts, Rajani broke the mould. She was large-hearted and generous to a fault, fiercely protective of her many friends, to whom her loyalty never wavered. A redoubtable lawyer across many areas, she had an acute sense of right and wrong and was a relentless and indomitable warrior in her defence of a just cause. People such as she are the rarest exceptions.”
Senior advocate Navroz Seervai said that she would be “long remembered for her deep and unwavering commitment to civil liberties and human rights”. He added, “She believed in freedom of thought and speech; and the right to dissent and differ.”
Calling her a fearless person who always spoke her mind, senior advocate Gayatri Singh said Iyer took up “domestic violence and civil liberties cases putting her heart and soul into them”.
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Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/senior-advocate-at-the-bombay-hc-rajani-iyer-passes-away
