Former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti dies at 81

Appointed as the 35th chief justice of India on June 1, 2004, Justice Lahoti also served as the former independent director on the board of directors of the Press Trust of India. He was appointed as arbitrator by the Government of India in the Rs 20,000 crore high-profile tax dispute case with telecom major Vodafone.

Born on November 1, 1940, he joined the Bar in Guna district in 1960 and enrolled as an advocate in 1962. He was recruited directly to the bench in April 1977, from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service and was appointed as a district and sessions judge.

After serving in the post for a year, Justice Lahoti resigned in May 1978 and returned to the Bar to practice mainly in the High Court. He was appointed an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 3, 1988, and made a permanent judge on August 4 the next year. He was transferred to Delhi High Court on February 7, 1994, and later appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on December 9, 1998.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Justice Lahoti on Wednesday. “Anguished by the passing away of former CJI Shri RC Lahoti Ji. He will be remembered for his contributions to the judiciary and emphasis on ensuring speedy justice to the underprivileged,” he tweeted. Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind called CJI Lahoti “an eminent jurist”, who “rose from the ground to reach the pinnacle of Indian judiciary.”

Anguished by the passing away of former CJI Shri RC Lahoti Ji. He will be remembered for his contributions to the judiciary and emphasis on ensuring speedy justice to the underprivileged. Condolences to his family and well-wishers. Om Shanti.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 24, 2022

Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said that Justice Lahoti’s death “is a jolt to the entire legal fraternity”. “Justice Lahoti will always be remembered as fearless and independent judge. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends on behalf of my brother and sister judges in this hour,” he said, adding that a full court reference will be held later. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave expressed condolences on behalf of the Bar. “He was one of the finest judges this court has had and the Bar would always remember him as a great judge,” Dave said.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, too, condoled the death of Justice Lahoti.”Saddened to hear the passing away of Shri RC Lahoti, former Chief Justice of India. He rose from a humble background and reached the highest position of our country’s judiciary because of his ability, knowledge and wisdom,” he tweeted.

(With PTI inputs)