Rana Bhagwandas, first Hindu chief justice of Pakistan, dies

NEW DELHI (TIP): Former acting chief justice of Pakistan Rana Bhagwandas passed away in Karachi on Monday, the country’s media reported. He was the first Hindu and the second non-Muslim head of the supreme court of Pakistan.

The 72-year-old former judge was under treatment for a heart ailment at a private hospital at the time of his passing.

He had been a supreme court judge since February 2000.

Bhagwandas became the acting CJP during the 2007 judicial crisis in Pakistan and also briefly became the acting chief justice of Pakistan when the incumbent CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry went on foreign tours in 2005 and 2006.

He also worked as the chairman of Federal Public Service Commission of Pakistan. He headed the interview panel for the selection of Pakistan’s Federal Civil Servants 2009.

Bhagwandas was born on December 20, 1942 in Naseerabad, Larkana district (now Qamber Shahdadkot district). He had a postgraduate degree in Islamic Studies and was considered an expert on constitutional law.

He was a practising advocate for about two years before being appointed as a judge in July 1967. He was made a judge of the Sindh high court in June 1994.

Be the first to comment

The Indian Panorama - Best Indian American Newspaper in New York & Dallas - Comments