On September 11, 2026, as part of its commemoration of 200 years of existence, the Calcutta Bar Library Club hosted a portrait unveiling ceremony in honour of late Senior Advocate Ashoke Kumar Sen.
The event commenced with remarks by Advocate Sabyasachi Chaudhury, Secretary, Calcutta Bar Library Club who noted that although the portrait had long been due to find a place in the library, its unveiling during his tenure as Secretary was a fortunate milestone. The event was attended by several eminent members of the legal fraternity, including the newly appointed Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Justice R.V. Ghuge along with Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court; Senior Advocate Sudipto Sarkar, President of the Bar Library Club; Senior Advocate Jayant Mitra, former Advocate General of West Bengal; Senior Advocate Sanjiv Sen, grandnephew of the late Advocate; Barrister Ashoke Kumar Sen Jr., grandson of the late Senior Advocate Sen; members of the Sen family; and other eminent judges and lawyers.
Justice Ghuge and Justice Chakraborty were also felicitated by the Bar Library Club, following which, the dignitaries unveiled the portrait of late Senior Advocate Ashoke Kumar Sen.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Justice R.V. Ghuge, marking his first judicial posting on the east coast, praised the remarkable 200-year continuity of the Bar Library Club. He also recalled the late Senior Advocate’s extraordinary memory and intellect. He referred to an observation attributed to Nani Palkhivala, to the effect that ‘what Ashoke Sen forgot would take two lifetimes to remember, while what he remembered would take ten more lifetimes to remember’. The Chief Justice further emphasised the importance of aspiring to become a good lawyer rather than merely pursuing a position on the Bench. He even paid a personal tribute by describing late Senior Advocate’s intellect and personality as extraordinary.
Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, opening his remarks with a quotation from Rabindranath Tagore, paid tribute to the late Senior Advocate Sen’s enduring legacy. He also reflected on his remarkable career and described him as one of India’s greatest legal minds, whose wide-ranging intellect and contributions had left an indelible mark on the legal fraternity.
Advocate Sabyasachi Chaudhury, Secretary, Calcutta Bar Library Club thereafter reminisced about the late Senior Advocate’s legendary “corridor conferences”, recalling how he would take up new case files immediately before entering court and argue them on a moment’s notice, with a command of the brief that appeared as though he had prepared for it for years.
Senior Advocate Jayant Mitra referring to an ACC Cement arbitration in which the late Senior Advocate appeared as an arbitrator at the age of 85, recalled Justice Chandrachud’s astonishment at his extensive knowledge and memory. He also spoke about Mr. Sen’s role as a legal adviser to successive governments and his association with seven Prime Ministers. In particular, he recalled Mr. Sen’s involvement in consultations concerning the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, in the aftermath of the Shah Bano judgment.
Senior Advocate Sudipto Sarkar, President of the Bar Library Club, briefly spoke about the late Senior Advocate’s unmatched brilliance, vast legal knowledge and exceptional memory. He also recalled Mr. Sen’s well-known fondness for food.
Senior Advocate Sanjiv Sen, the grandnephew of the late Advocate, subsequently spoke about Mr. Sen’s reading habits and approach to the law. Quoting the late Advocate, he said: “When the lawyer reads well, the judge reads better, when the judge reads better, the citizen lives better.”
He further recalled that the late Advocate never raised his voice in disagreement and never “turned debate into delay”. Mr. Sanjiv Sen also highlighted Mr. Sen’s contribution to the piloting of the 17th Constitutional Amendment and revealed that Justice B.P. Sinha had once offered him a direct appointment to the Supreme Court at the age of 45.
He also highlighted Mr. Sen’s political career, noting that he served as Law Minister under seven Prime Ministers and was the country’s longest-serving Law Minister. He emphasised that Mr. Sen’s legacy ought to be viewed not merely through the lens of his career as a lawyer or politician, but also as that of a lifelong student of law. He also referred to the portrait unveiling of the late Advocate at the Bar Association Library of the Supreme Court on June 26, 2026.
The final address was delivered by Barrister Ashoke Kumar Sen Jr., grandson of the late Senior Advocate Sen. Recalling Mr. Sen’s domestic and international contributions, he noted that his grandfather had represented India at the United Nations General Assembly alongside V.K. Krishna Menon at the age of 42.
He also recalled Mr. Sen’s participation in the First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) in Geneva. According to Barrister Sen Jr., the late Mr. Sen walked out of the conference when he felt that the proposed framework did not adequately address the needs of countries or ensure access to the sea for all.
Barrister Sen Jr. further recalled that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had declined to comment on a maritime proposal made by United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower without first consulting Mr. Sen. He also referred to former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s appreciation of Mr. Sen’s legal genius and wisdom.
Concluding his address, Barrister Sen Jr. recalled the words of Advocate Somnath Chatterjee, who had observed that Ashoke Kumar Sen “stood like a colossus in the legal arena of the country.”
The ceremony concluded with closing remarks by Club Secretary Advocate Sabyasachi Chaudhury, marking a tribute to the enduring legacy of one of India’s most distinguished lawyers and legal minds.
Report by Kashvi Pandey, Student, National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
