He was 85 and is survived by wife, sons, daughters in law and grand children.
C R Dalvi started legal practice in the chambers of Justice V.M. Tarkunde and became assistant government pleader when former Supreme Court Chief Justice Y.V. Chandrachud was the government pleader in the Bombay High Court.
He practiced in the Bombay High Court for over 50 years and strongly believed that law should be used as an instrument of justice rather than getting bogged down in technicalities. It was this rule that determined Dalvi's conduct during his entire legal career as he fought incessantly for justice on behalf of the common man.
Dalvi's sense of humility and a commitment to these unshakeable principles left his mark on the Bar, and on jurisprudence. During his tenure in the government pleader's office he appeared in many important cases including the Sundar Navalkar case, the Rajnibhai Desai murder case, the Chunawala murder case, and the Raman Raghavan case.
He was a civil libertarian and his finest hour was during the Emergency as he fought constantly on behalf of those who were detained. His fight against the censorship of "Sadhana" magazine; and his representation on behalf of former MP and Socialist Leader, Mrunal Gore, when she was imprisoned, are particularly notable.
During this period Dalvi obtained an order from the court allowing the detainees to vote in the Mayoral Elections of Bombay Municipal Corporation which ensured Manohar Joshi's election as the Mayor of Bombay.Dalvi's commitment to justice made him take on a number of different types of cases. When Dr Anil Awachat shone a light on unethical practices of doctors, Maharashtra Medical Council issued a notice accusing Dr Awachat of casting a slur on medical profession. Dalvi's fight in exoneration of all charges against Dr Awachat would always be remembered.
Dalvi also fought for Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) against the orders of state government. Prior to the advent of the Right to Information Act, he ensured that laws and codes passed by the legislature should be immediately made available not only to High Court and subordinate judiciary but also to the people because they had a right to know about the laws that governed them.
Dalvi was an active member of the Center for the Study of Social Change, an NGO that works with women in the slums of Mumbai. He was a trustee of Bharatiya Sanskriti Darshan Trust, that is dedicated to the propagation of Ayurvedic medicine; and was a fellow of the ILS Law College in Pune.