Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, unveiling the portrait of former Union Law Minister and Senior Advocate Ashoke Kumar Sen at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Library on Wednesday (29.07.2026), said that the tribute was not merely about adoring the Library, but about “enshrining in these walls the spirit of a life devoted to justice, intellect, and public service.”

Late Ashoke Kumar Sen served as the longest-serving Law Minister of the country, holding the post during the terms of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and also held the Communications and Steel and Mines portfolio during his career. He also served as the President of the SCBA. He is remembered as having represented India at various international conferences on law and human rights.

Sen was remembered by the bar and the bench today as his portrait was unveiled by the CJI along with SCBA members and Sen's family, who paid homage with flower petals. The event, held at the Main Auditorium of the Administrative Building Complex of the Supreme Court, was attended by former Supreme Court judges - Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Pankaj Mithal, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, Senior Advocate Harish Salve, SCBA President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, Vice-President Nikhil Jain, Secretary Yugandhara Pawar Jha, Prof C Raj Kumar (Vice-Chancellor, OP Jindal Global University), Prof Mahesh Verma (Vice-Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University), Senior Advocate Sanjeev Sen, and Mr Bose, a former junior of Sen, students from law colleges, and members of Sen's family, including his son, daughter-in-law, and grand daughter. Addressing the gathering, CJI Surya Kant described Sen's legacy as “as storied as it is inspiring”, calling him “scholar of rare distinction, an Advocate of exemplary erudition and a statesman of unwavering commitment” who “bridged the worlds of law and governance with the grace of one truly called to serve his nation.”

CJI Surya Kant remarked that a court's memory “not confined to its judgments alone but also to the lives that shaped its conscience”, and that every portrait in the Court served a deeper purpose “to stand guard, as much as they commemorate lives of exceptional service.” He added that lawyers passing through the Library ought to “be equal to the room that we occupy,” and that meeting the portrait's gaze honestly, “even for a moment, is itself a kind of instruction.”

CJI Surya Kant also recounted an anecdote about Sen's courtroom wit - once, while confidently explaining what a statutory provision meant, the judge asked Sen how he could be so certain about the statute, to which Sen replied, “Because, My Lords, I drafted it.” He also referred to seniors at the bar who recall Sen's legendary “corridor briefings”, where Sen would argue a matter as though he had lived with the brief for weeks, however briefly he had actually been briefed. Noting that AK Sen Block is already a “part of the daily geography of this Court,” with thousands passing through it each day, CJI Surya Kant said that from this evening, the name would also have a face. He said that the portrait would pose to future generations the questions Sen likely asked himself - “Have I prepared enough? Have I been fair to the Court and to my opponent? Have I used the law to clarify, or merely to complicate?”. This would remind the bench and the bar that institutions are strengthened “not only by grand judgments and historic statutes, but also by the daily habits of preparation, restraint, humour, and respect.” He concluded that from this evening, Sen would “sit among us as a silent senior, never seeking the floor, yet always entitled to be heard.”

The Chief Justice concluded his address by saying that a legal titan has been eternalised. "May his presence here remind us that brilliance without balance is incomplete; that office without service is transient; and that law without humanity is barren," he said.

Among the other speakers, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani recalled Sen as an advocate who never left the bar even while holding high office, crediting him with having given the bar “dignity and independence” that lawyers continue to benefit from. He recounted an exchange in which Prime Minister Nehru asked Sen what plea a lawyer takes when all else fails, to which Sen replied, “anukampa, compassion, reham”. Senior Advocate Harish Salve delivered the keynote address.