A G Noorani (1930 – 2024): ‘Fearless, straightforward… more of a lawyer outside courtrooms’

From the Ram Janmabhoomi issue to the annexation of Hyderabad to India, from Kashmir constitutionalism to the RSS, Noorani’s scholarship extended to several areas. His 2013 book on Kashmir, The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012, which traces the complex history of the region, was submitted to the Supreme Court in an annexure as essential reading during the 2023 case challenging the abrogation of Article 370.

It is learnt that Noorani was working on a book on the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict of November 2019. Lawyers involved in the case recollected that Noorani would call them up seeking papers for the book.

Born in Mumbai in 1930, Noorani studied law at the Government Law College in the city. While he practised in the Bombay High Court and defended several high-profile clients, including Sheikh Abdullah, N T Rama Rao and J Jayalalithaa, Noorani was known more for his work outside the courtrooms.

“He was more of a lawyer outside the courtrooms. His scholarship and journalism were meticulous. He was a leading political commentator for decades. He did not just give his opinion, it was rigorous research that informed his views,” senior advocate Shyam Divan told The Indian Express.

As a young lawyer, Noorani went to Dharamshala as legal help to the Dalai Lama. He only returned when his mother came to visit him and found the weather too harsh for her son to live there.

“He was a man of great intellectual integrity. What stood out was his courage and absolute fearlessness. It is important, especially in a day and age when the number of fearless lawyers has diminished. His scholarship and erudition are of the highest quality,” said senior advocate Navroz Seervai.

Many in the legal fraternity refer to Noorani also as a journalist, given this off-court persona.

“His passing away is a great loss to society. He was a great lawyer, journalist and was a man of integrity, character and honesty and was straightforward,” said senior advocate Muchhala.

Those who knew Noorani say he had “many admirers and only a few friends” and talk mostly of his scholarship than the man himself.

“That is how, he would have wanted to be remembered. His work had integrity and never compromised on his views for advancing his career,” advocate Warisha Farasat said.

“Even when I tried to talk to him about his personal life, the man remained steadfast in not talking about himself. We have lost one of our finest and most fearless constitutional thinkers. He was a true nationalist and stood up against communalism,” senior advocate Raju Ramachandran said.

Even personal anecdotes regarding Noorani are about aspects of his scholarship — a special chair on which he spent long hours writing, his long-hand style of writing, researching without the internet and keeping meticulous files of newspaper clippings of issues he was interested in. Among his cherished friends was Mithilesh, an employee of the Delhi bookstore Bahrison’s, who would send him book suggestions and ship them to Mumbai, while Noorani would promptly send a cheque back.

“He remained single and was surrounded by his books till his last days,” Ramachandan added.

In his book, Men And Women In My Life, author Khushwant Singh wrote that Noorani once told him that he had only two interests — “vakalat and siyasat (law and politics)”.

Condolences poured in from political circles too.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and MP from Hyderabad recollected Noorani’s love for food and how he always had recommendations across cities for the best chai, paaya, samosas and biryani. “He never accepted any civilian awards and even refused to allow me to take pictures of him. I requested him to allow me to interview him so his views are recorded for posterity but he refused,” Owasi told The Indian Express.

In a message on X, Owaisi said, “A G Noorani, a giant among scholars has passed away. I learnt a great deal from him, from the Constitution, to Kashmir, to China & even the art of appreciating good food. May Allah grant him maghfirah.”

“Sorry to hear about the demise of A G Noorani Sb earlier today. Noorani Sb was a man of letters, an accomplished lawyer, a scholar & a political commentator. He wrote extensively on matters of law and on subjects like Kashmir, RSS and the Constitution. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannat,” former J&K CM Omar Abdullah said in a post on X.