Former CJI Lahoti dead

New Delhi, March 23

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday condoled the death of former Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti, saying he rose from a humble background to reach the top position in the judiciary.

Justice Lahoti died on Wednesday evening. He was 81. Hailing from MP’s Guna district, he was appointed 35th CJI on June 1, 2004, and retired on November 1, 2005.

Justice Lahoti joined the Bar in Guna district in 1960 and enrolled as advocate in 1962. In April 1977, he was recruited directly from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service and appointed District and Sessions Judge. He resigned in May 1978 and returned to the Bar to practice mainly in the High Court.

He was appointed Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 3, 1988, and made permanent Judge on August 4 the following year. He was transferred to the Delhi High Court on February 7, 1994, and later appointed Supreme Court Judge on December 9, 1998. —