Leaders condole jurist death

Chennai: The Assembly on Friday condoled the death of eminent jurist V. R.Krishna Iyer who turned 100 last month.  Governor K. Rosaiah, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa and DMK President M. Karunanidhi also expressed their condolences. As soon as the House met, Speaker P. Dhanapal moved the obituary reference and asked members to observe a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to Mr Iyer who passed away at a private hospital at Kochi on Thursday following multiple organ failure.

Members of the Assembly paid tributes to the former Supreme Court judge for his contributions to the judiciary. Mr Rosaiah, in a statement, praised his ‘legal acumen and simplicity’. “The passing away of this great legal luminary has left a void in the judiciary. He had on no occasion hesitated to give a call to uphold the principles of democracy, law and justice,” he said.

In her condolence message, Ms Jayalalithaa said that the passing away of Mr Iyer was a huge loss to the nation. Stating that Mr Iyer’s constant activism and commitment to national and social issues would be remembered forever, she said, “He will remain a beacon for legal luminaries and his legendary and sterling judgments will guide generations to come.”
 Condoling Mr Iyer’s death, Mr Karunanidhi said that his views against the death penalty would remain forever in Indian judiciary.

“Having served as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, a minister in the Kerala government, and also finally, as a judge of the Supreme Court, Mr Iyer is known for coming out with constructive and humanitarian opinions on various issues faced by the country without any fear.” CPI state secretary D. Pandian, CPI (M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan and PMK founder Dr S. Ramadoss also condoled Mr Iyer’s death.