Coal scam petitioner and Nirbhaya convict lawyer ML Sharma no more

Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, the lead petitioner in the Coal scam matter, passed away on December 19. He was 69.

Sharma was known for his public interest litigation petitions including the Coal scam matter in which he was the lead petitioner.

He had also filed PILs over other issues like Rafale deal, Hindenberg report, Pegasus snooping, BBC documentary, Article 370, Indo-US Civil Nuclear agreement of 2008 etc.

He was also the counsel for one of the convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.

Sharma has often drawn the ire of Supreme Court judges for filing frivolous petitions.

Sharma also courted controversy for his remarks about women in relation to the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.

Pursuant to that, the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association filed a petition seeking bar on his entry to the top court.