RIP: Sarosh Homi Kapadia, former chief justice of India, passes away

Mumbai: Former Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia, who delivered some landmark judgements, passed away in Mumbai on Monday night following a cardiac arrest, Bombay High Court sources said on Tuesday. He was 68 and is survived by his wife Shernaaz, a son and a daughter. [caption id=“attachment_2571520” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia. AFP[/caption] Justice Kapadia’s funeral was held as per Parsi tradition on Tuesday evening at Tower of Silence at Kemps Corner, South Mumbai. The judges and staff of the High Court were among those who attended the last rites. Born in 1947 in Mumbai (then Bombay), Justice Kapadia graduated from the city-based Government Law College, the oldest law institute in Asia. Justice Kapadia started his career as a Class IV employee. He later joined Gagrat & Co, a law firm, as a clerk and went on to work with Feroze Damania, a popular ‘firebrand’ labour lawyer. He became an advocate in the Bombay High Court on 10 September, 1974. Justice Kapadia was appointed as additional judge of the Bombay High Court on 8 October, 1991, and on 23 March, 1993, he was appointed a permanent judge. On 5 August, 2003, he became the chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. On 18 December, 2003 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. On 12 May, 2010, he was sworn in as the 38th Chief Justice of India and served at the top post till his retirement on 29 September, 2012. Notable among the judgements he delivered were the quashing of appointment of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas in 2011. He also gave a dissenting judgement in Lalu Prasad Yadav’s bail cancellation case. During his tenure as CJI, he was the chairman of the General Council of the Gujarat National Law University and visitor of the National Law School of India University. Justice Kapadia was interested in economics, public finance, theoretical physics, and Hindu and Buddhist philosophies. The High Court staff paid homage to Justice Kapadia, whom they described as a nice and affectionate person. PTI