Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday expressed her condolences on the demise of senior Supreme Court lawyer Pavani Parameswara Rao, saying his immense contribution to the development of law will always be a benchmark.
In a statement, Gandhi said, "As a constitutional law expert and a jurist, his immense contribution to the development of law will always be a benchmark."
Conveying her condolences to Rao's family, the Congress president prayed for the departed soul.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also expressed condolences on passing away of the eminent legal luminary.
He said on Twitter, "My deepest condolences on the demise of legal luminary Shri P.P. Rao. Leaves a huge void in the legal fraternity and is a great personal loss."
Earlier in the day, Rao, 84, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in the national capital.
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Considered a prominent name in the law fraternity, Rao had argued a number of landmark cases before the Supreme Court.
Born on July 1, 1933, he completed his LL.B. and LL.M. from Osmania University, Hyderabad. He started his career teaching law in Delhi University in 1961. He was enrolled as an Advocate by the Bar Council of Delhi in 1967 and, thereafter, started practice in the Supreme Court.
In 1991, he was elected President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and in 2006, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan.
In 2014, President Pranab Mukherjee approved Rao's selection as jurist member of the selection committee of the Lokpal.
Rao had appeared before the apex court in several landmark cases including Kesavananda Bharati, SR Bommai, Unnikrishnan v. State of AP, TMA Pai, PA Inamdar, and the Babri Masjid demolition case.