Kochi: Thousands of people, including leaders cutting across the political spectrum, paid homage to legendary jurist V.R. Krishna Iyer who was cremated on Friday evening with full state honours.
His body was consigned to the flames at Kochi Ravipuram crematorium at 6.40 p.m. following a mourning procession from his residence ‘Satgamaya’ where priests conducted the funeral rites.
His sons Ramesh and Parameshwer and grandson Dhrubo performed the rituals that lasted for nearly two hours.
Justice Iyer, who turned 100 on November 13, breathed his last at a private hospital here on Thursday evening following multiple organ failure.
On Friday morning, his body was brought to the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Kadavanthra to enable the public to pay their last respects.
The state Assembly was adjourned in the morning itself and the ministers arrived by noon. There was a steady stream of mourners that forced the authorities to keep the body for two more hours than planned at the stadium.
“We’ve lost a strong guardian of law who made the common man believe in the power of law,” said Opposition Leader V.S. Achutanandan.
Those who paid their homage to Iyer included K.M. Mani, K. Babu, Vayalar Ravi, P. Rajeev MP, M.B. Rajesh, P.K. Sreemathi teacher, A.N. Radhakrishnan, Pannyan Raveendran, social activist Swami Agnivesh, friend and noted critic M.K. Sanoo and Arputham Ammal mother of A.G. Perarivalan, who is serving life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
“I visited Iyer Sir last year around this time. It was he who initiated the campaign to commute the death sentence awarded to my son to life term.
He believed that the law should not take one’s life and that a fair chance should be given to all,” Arputham Ammal, who stayed back till the body of Iyer was consigned to the flames, said. The Kerala High Court observed a holiday on Friday as a mark of respect to Justice Iyer.
