Former CJI Altamas Kabir dead

Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir died at a private hospital here on Sunday due to renal complications.

He was 68, and leaves behind his wife Minna, son Deep and daughter Anamika, family sources said. Kabir breathed his last at 2.52 p.m. at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, where he was admitted on February 8 with multiple problems, including the end stage of renal failure.

“Kabir, who had a kidney transplant in 2007, was suffering from end stage renal disease, urinary tuberculosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension,” the hospital said in a statement.

He had also undergone angioplasty in 2005.

He was treated at the hospital multiple times in the past two years. On February 8, he was admitted with complaints of fever with chills, urinary retention, haematuria (presence of red blood cells in the urine) and extreme weakness.

Kabir served as the 39th Chief Justice of India from September 29, 2012 till his retirement on July 19, 2013.

Condoling Kabir’s demise, President Pranab Mukherjee, said India has lost “an eminent and progressive jurist”. “Deepest condolences on passing away of former CJI Justice Altamas Kabir. We have lost an eminent and progressive jurist,” he said in a tweet.

“Shri Altamas Kabir shall be particularly remembered for his initiatives with regard to legal reforms,” he said in another tweet.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi remembered him as an outstanding legal luminary and said: “As a judge, Kabir’s contribution to legal and justice system of India shall never be forgotten.”

“His commitment to human rights and constitutional propriety was exemplary,” she added.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the country has lost a legal luminary. “My thoughts (are) with his family/ colleagues. India and Bengal have lost a legal luminary,” she said in a tweet.