ML Sharma, defence lawyer in Nirbhaya case, passes away

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma, who made headlines for appearing for the convicts in the Nirbhaya case and later became famous for his many public interest litigations, passed away on Sunday. He was 69. Sharma was undergoing treatment for kidney disease. He filed several public interest litigations, including the coal block scam case that put the UPA government on the defensive.

ML Sharma had also filed scores of petitions against the NDA government on issues such as the abrogation of Article 370, Pegasus spy software, the Rafale fighter jet deal, and the sexual harassment allegations against former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Sharma, who earned a law degree from Mumbai, filed his first public interest litigation in the Allahabad High Court in 1991, challenging certain provisions of the Places of Worship Act. The Supreme Court has imposed a huge fine on him several times, citing that the lawyer was filing unnecessary public interest litigations.