Karachi: Justice (r) Rana Bhagwandas passes away
His final rituals will be offered today at 4:30 pm.
KARACHI (Dunya News) - Former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Rana Bhagwandas passed away in Karachi today (Monday), Dunya News reported.
According to sources, the former acting Chief Justice was suffering from heart ailment. He was admitted to a private hospital in a critical condition where he passed away early morning as a result of cardiac arrest.
His final rituals will be offered today at 4:30 pm.
Rana Bhagwandas was born on December 20, 1942 in Larkana District of Naseerabad.
He was the first Hindu and the second non-Muslim head of Pakistan’s judiciary and had been a Supreme Court (SC) judge since Feb 2000.
He studied law and received a Masters degree in Islamic studies. He joined the bar in 1965 and after two years of practising law with Abdul Ghafoor Bhurgri, an eminent lawyer of Larkana, joined the Pakistani Judicial System in 1967.
Later, he became a session’s judge, and subsequently, a judge of the Sindh High Court (SHC) in 1994.
In 2002, the Sindh High Court had dismissed a challenge to his appointment to the higher judiciary on the grounds that he was a non-Muslim.
He was appointed as an acting Chief Justice for few days in 2005 and 2006, during the absence of then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry from the country.
He was again appointed as acting Chief Justice of Pakistan during the judicial crisis in 2007.
Justice (retd) Bhagwandas was also appointed as the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) Chairman in November 2009 after his retirement from the Supreme Court in December 2007.
Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain offered condolence and expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of Rana Bhagwandas.
