Union Minister and Veteran Lawyer Ram Jethmalani Passes Away at 95

New Delhi, September 8, 2019:

India's finest criminal lawyers and former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani passed away on Sunday, after suffering from prolonged illness. He was 95.

Ram Jethmalani was suffering from months, as informed by his family members. He was bedridden for a week and breathed his last at 7.45 am at his official residence in New Delhi.

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Jethmalani left behind his son, Mahesh Jethmalani, and his daughter, who lives in the US.

The last rites of the veteran lawyer will be performed in the evening at the Lodhi Road crematorium at 4 pm.

On the demise of the veteran lawyer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to his tweeter handle and tweeted, “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. He was witty, courageous and never shied away from boldly expressing himself on any subject.”

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Ram Jethmalani ji, an institution in himself, he shaped criminal law in post-independence India. His void would never be filled and his name will be written in golden words in legal history.”

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also expressed condolences and praised the way Jethmalani handled his legal cases.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah went to Jethmalani's house to pay last respects to the veteran lawyer.

Born in Sikhapur of Sindh province on September 14, 1923, Ram Jethmalani fought many high-profile cases in the Supreme Court, high courts and trial courts. He will be well remembered for the case of KM Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra case in which he was the prosecutor.

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He fought several other high-profile cases which included the defence of Rajiv Gandhi's killer in Madras High Court in 2001. He defended Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh in the Securities scam of 1992. He also defended the death sentence given to Afzal Guru and represented Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lall murder case.

In 2010, Jethmalani was elected as the president of Supreme Court Bar Association.

He was elected as a BJP MP in the sixth and seventh Lok Sabha. Apart from Union law minister, he also held the portfolio of urban development in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.

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