The Supreme Court on Wednesday paid tributes to former Acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Vijay Kumar Jhanji, who passed away on February 23 this year.
Speaking at a Full Court reference, CJI Surya Kant said Justice Jhanjhi always embodied the principle that institutions must stand before individuals.
The top court also paid tributes to late senior advocates ADN Rao, Mukul Gupta and S Balakrishnan who passed away in recent months.
Attorney General R Venkataramani and Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh also recalled the contribution of Justice Jhanji, Rao, Gupta and Balakrishnan.
Jhanji had authored a significant judgement for the UT, which held that "daughter of a permanent resident of J&K will not lose status as a permanent resident of the J&K on her marriage with a person, who is not a permanent resident of the state."
Rao, who passed away on February 25, assisted the Supreme Court as amicus curiae in dealing with several environment-related PILs, according to the top court's bar association.
Rao, who was designated as a senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 2021, practised for over three decades at the Bar and was known for his able assistance to the top court in dealing with environment-related PILs, especially those filed by eminent environmentalist M C Mehta in the 1980s.