Satya Brata Mookherjee

Satya Brata Mookherjee was a barrister and senior advocate who also served as a member of the Lok Sabha and as a Union minister. He was named posthumously for the Padma Bhushan in 2024 in the field of public affairs, from West Bengal ^[1].

Lawyer

He was born on 8 May 1932 in Sylhet, now in Bangladesh, and went to school in Shillong ^[2]. He studied English at Presidency College, Calcutta, and journalism in London, and was called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1955 ^[2].

He enrolled at the Calcutta High Court in 1957 and later appeared before courts and tribunals across India, including the Supreme Court ^[2]. Designated a senior advocate in 1976, he specialised in commercial and company law ^[2]. In 1998 he served as Additional Solicitor General of India at the Calcutta High Court ^[2].

Public life

Mookherjee was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from Krishnanagar and served as a minister of state for portfolios including chemicals and fertilisers, social justice and empowerment, planning, atomic energy and space, and commerce and industry ^[2]. He also supported welfare and literacy work in his ancestral village, Jamalpur, in Nadia district ^[2]. A keen gardener, he was president of the Bengal Rose Society ^[2].

He died on 3 March 2023 ^[2].