Krishnakant Vakharia, one of many seniormost advocates of the Gujarat Excessive Courtroom, died in Ahmedabad, Sunday. Vakharia, who was 92, had mentored a number of authorized luminaries, together with Solicitor Common Tushar Mehta.
With Vakharia passing away, Mehta stated he has misplaced his “guru and a mentor and a father determine who at all times handled me as his personal son”.
“His authorized coaching is imbibed in me and all those that labored with him are both eminent legal professionals or eminent judges now in their very own proper. Shri Vakharia would proceed to stay in all of us until the final of his colleagues practising regulation proceed to practise”, stated Mehta. Amongst others who Vakharia mentored embody Extra Solicitor Common Devang Vyas and former Performing Chief justice of Gujarat Excessive Courtroom Justice Jayant Patel.
“My 10-year-long affiliation with him at his workplace is lengthy sufficient to face the testimony to the truth that he was greater than only a senior to a younger lawyer. I owe him far more than only a tribute. He was a person of values, virtues and righteousness”, Mehta stated in a press release. He remained with Vakharia until 2004. Mehta recalled how Vakharia was not solely a jurist “in his personal proper” however learn voraciously on different non-legal topics.
“He taught all his juniors {that a} lawyer who merely is aware of the regulation is sort of a mason developing a constructing. Then again, a lawyer realizing different topics like historical past, sociology, economics, and many others is equated with an architect developing a masterpiece,” the SG stated, including, “He’ll proceed to encourage me”.
A former Congress celebration veteran, Vakharia was the celebration’s normal secretary in 1972. He had labored intently with late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Vakharia instructed Indian Express in 2020.
Gujarat Excessive Courtroom Advocates’ Affiliation President Pruthviraj Jadeja stated, “Vakharia saheb was a legend of Gujarat Excessive Courtroom bar. Ever since I began practising regulation at Gujarat Excessive Courtroom, I discovered him to be a really meticulous and hardworking lawyer who at all times helped junior advocates. He was very all the way down to earth and courteous,” Jadeja stated.
A local of Amreli, Vakharia was a multifaceted character. Aside from being a chosen senior advocate on the HC, he additionally held the workplace of Chairman of Authorized Cell of the Gujarat Congress for a very long time. Furthermore, he was additionally the longest-serving president of Vishwa Gujarati Samaj, a robust organisation of Gujarati diaspora.
Paying his tributes, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi stated, “Vakharia saheb was a Congress stalwart who carried out his duties as Chairman of the Authorized Cell for lengthy. He had as soon as contested for the Meeting elections. The Congress has misplaced a stalwart as we speak.”
Doshi added that he was a useful individual. “Additionally, an important issue of his character was his networking abilities. The credit score to ascertain Vishwa Gujarati Samaj on the world stage goes to Vakharia saheb,” he stated.
In November 2021, SG Tushar Mehta, had organised a operate to felicitate the senior advocate in Ahmedabad. The operate was attended by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, sitting choose of Supreme Courtroom MR Shah and nearly all of the essential authorized personalities of Gujarat.
“Most turn into legends after their lifetime. There are just a few who turn into legends of their lifetime. Vakharia saheb is such an individual who has turn into a legend in his lifetime… He not solely practised regulation but additionally developed a robust bar. After we entered (the authorized discipline), we weren’t legal professionals. Vakharia saheb moulded us into legal professionals,” Mehta had then stated.
On the identical occasion, senior HC advocate Nirupam Nanavati said that Vakharia was into scholar politics, labour union actions underneath Congress’s Indian Nationwide Commerce Union Congress (INTUC) and social work and in addition had a thriving authorized apply in his prime. He recalled that Vakharia’s workplace gave 4 excessive courtroom judges and quite a few designated senior advocates like Mehta.
Vakharia is survived by spouse Lilaben, son Mehul who runs a regulation agency and daughters Avani and Bindu.
