New Delhi: Eminent jurist and former Union minister Ram Jethmalani passed away Sunday at the age of 95, his family members said. Ram Jethmalani breathed his last at 7.45am at his official residence here, his son Mahesh Jethmalani informed.
Mahesh Jethmalani and other close acquaintances said Ram Jethmalani was not keeping well for a few months. He passed away a few days before his 96th birthday September 14.
Mahesh said his father’s last rites will be performed in the evening at the Lodhi Road Crematorium here. Besides Mahesh Jethmalani, the former Union minister is survived by his daughter based in the US. His other daughter, Rani Jethmalani, died in 2011.
Jethmalani was the Union Law Minister and also the Urban Development Minister during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. He also served as the Supreme Court Bar Association president in 2010.
Ram Jethmalani was born in Shikarpur in Sindh province (now in Pakistan), September 14, 1923 and obtained a law degree at the age of 17.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Ram Jethmalani. He said that the country has lost an ‘exceptional’ lawyer and an ‘iconic figure’ who made rich contributions in courts and Parliament.
Modi recalled that one of the best aspects of eminent jurist and former Union Minister was the ability to speak his mind.
“And, he did so without any fear. During the dark days of the Emergency, his fortitude and fight for public liberties will be remembered,” Modi said in a tweet. “In the passing away of Shri Ram Jethmalani Ji, India has lost an exceptional lawyer and iconic public figure who made rich contributions both in the Court and Parliament,” Modi said another tweet.
Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik also expressed his sadness at Jethmalani’s passing.
Saddened to learn of the passing away of veteran lawyer and former Union Minister #RamJethmalani. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, friends and followers in this moment of grief.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) September 8, 2019
“Saddened to learn of the passing away of veteran lawyer and former Union Minister #RamJethmalani. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, friends and followers in this moment of grief,” Patnaik tweeted.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury expressed grief over the death of veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani, and said he had lost a ‘dear friend’.
“Deep grief at the passing away of Ram Jethmalani. He was a dear friend, fellow Parliamentarian and a legal legend. Deepest condolences to his family and the large number of friends and admirers,” Sitaram Yechury tweeted
Meanwhile Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu while condoling the demise of veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani, said the country has lost a great intellectual and a patriot.
“Deeply saddened to learn about the demise of Shri Ram Jethmalani… one of the brilliant minds of Bharat. In his passing away the nation has lost a distinguished jurist, a great intellectual & a patriot, who was active till his last breath,” the Vice-President’s secretariat tweeted.
Attorney General KK Venugopal on meanwhile said that with the passing away of noted jurist Ram Jethmalani, the country has lost its finest lawyer who was bold and handled the most sensational criminal cases and constitutional matters.
“His passing away is a great loss not only to the Bar in the country but also to Parliament and the country as a whole,” KK Venugopal said. “According to me, he was a lawyer, was larger than life handling the most sensational cases, especially criminal cases as I, therefore, told him once that he is a leader of the criminal Bar of the country. His retort was, ‘I am also the No. 1 constitutional lawyer’. This is because he was handling cases across the board,” Venugopal said.
PTI