Former Additional Solicitor General for South India, VT Gopalan passed away in the early hours of Friday, July 10.

He had worked with NG Krishna Iyengar and then commenced his independent practice from June 1966.

During the course of his career, spanning 54 years, he has assisted several eminent seniors including R Kesava Iyengar, VT Chari, MK Nambiar, S Mohan Kumaramangalam, K Parasaran, KK Venugopal, and G Ramasamy.

He was appointed as Senior Standing Counsel for Central Government in the year 1992. He resigned from this post in 1998.

He was later appointed as the Additional Solicitor General of India (South i.e. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and the then Andra Pradesh) in 2000. He continued in this capacity until he reportedly resigned in 2008.

Law officers of Central Government who worked under him were later elevated as High Court Judges.

A distinguishing feature of his tenure as ASGI was that he represented both the Congress and BJP governments at the centre when DMK was part of the Central Government.

The members of the Bar affectionately called him VTG and remember him as being very cordial even with his strongest opponent in Courts.

Senior Advocate P Wilson, presently a Rajya Sabha MP, expressed his condolences on Twitter.

Wilson, a former Assistant Solicitor General, has appeared with several cases to assist VT Gopalan during his term as Additional Solicitor General.

While recalling his long association with Gopalan, Wilson said that his demise is a great loss to the Bar and the Bench and personally to him.