Justice Leila Seth passes away at 86, condolences pour in
Mother of novelist Vikram Seth, she was 86. She passed away at her Noida residence.
Seth was also a member of the Justice JS Verma committee that was set up to re-examine Indian rape laws after the Dec 2012 Nirbhaya rape and death case in Delhi.
While in her autobiography On Balance she spoke courageously about corruption and many important issues, she also dwelt on her personal life, marriage, bringing up three children and even her acceptance of the sexual orientation of her celebrated son Vikram Seth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condoled the passing away of Justice Leila Seth.
"Saddened by the passing away of Justice Leila Seth. Her remarkable contribution to the legal field will be remembered. My condolences," the Prime Minister said.
Leila Seth was born in October 1930 in Lucknow and was the first woman to top the London Bar exam in 1958.
She joined the bar in 1959. In the same year she also graduated as an IAS officer.
In an interview she once said she had to face many gender issues as a woman law practioner.
"There were many gender issues, first of all nobody wanted me to join the profession cause they thought it was a male preserve, and later on when I started practicing I wouldn’t get much work, because people said that I am a woman and I would not be able to handle it," she had said in a newspaper interview.
Leila Seth's autobiography "On Balance" was published by Penguin India in 2003.
In the book she spoke about her straying into law while in England with her husband Prem, and later practising in Patna, Calcutta and Delhi; and her happy marriage of over fifty years.
She raised three children, the famous writer Vikram Seth, peace activist Shantum and film-maker Aradhana.
Condoling her death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "Saddened at the passing of Justice Leila Seth. She was a champion of human rights. My condolences to her family."
Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, tweeted: "Passing away of Justice Leila Seth ji is a personal loss. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family."
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