Former Attorney General of India and Padma Bhushan winner Ashok Desai died on Monday morning, Live Law reported. He was 77.

Desai started his practice in 1956 in Bombay High Court. He served as the attorney general of India from July 9, 1996 to May 6, 1998. He was also the solicitor general from 1989 to 1990. Desai was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Law Luminary Award in 2001.

Desai had appeared for one of the petitioners in the landmark decriminalisation of homosexuality case. He had told the Supreme Court that many countries around the world have accepted homosexuality and that Section 377 had “created utter chaos”. He was also a part of the Vineet Narain case (on powers of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Central Vigilance Commission case) and the Narmada Dam case.

Politicians and lawyers took to Twitter to pay tributes to Desai. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar wrote, “Saddened to hear about the demise of Senior Advocate and Former Attorney General of India, Shri Ashok Desai, a brilliant lawyer and Padma Bhushan awardee. My sincere condolences to the family.”

Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nandy also paid her respects to Desai. “Aside from being brilliant, he was really kind to all juniors, kind to me,” she wrote on Twitter. “He was a great proponent of the principle that a good idea can come from anywhere.” Senior Congress leader and advocate Kapil Sibal also paid his tributes to Desai. “A doyen of the bar will always be remembered for his contributions to the law and for his unmatched wit,” he wrote.

Senior lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gaurav Bhatia said Desai’s death was a personal loss for him. “A lawyer par excellence,always accessible to young lawyers,a great human being with a great sense of humour,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our institution has lost one of its pillar. Huge personal loss.”