Justice Sarkaria passes away, given state funeral

Chandigarh, Oct 13 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today expressed profound grief and sorrow over the demise of former Supreme Court judge and former Chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, who passed away late last night after protracted illness.

In a condolence message, Mr Badal said that Justice Sarkaria was an eminent jurist, legal luminary and above all a fine human being with rare qualities of head and heart. Justice Sarkaria discharged his duties in various capacities with utmost sincerity, dedication and professional commitment .J Mr Badal said that Justice Sarkaria would always be remembered by one and all for his forthright recommendations on "Centre- State Relations" when he was the Chairman of the Centre-State Relations Committee.

The Chief Minister expressed his heart felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family and prayed to the Almighty to give strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss and grant peace to the departed soul. Meanwhile Justice Sarkaria was cremated with full state honors. A contingent of Punjab Police fired a volly of shots and reversed arms as a mark of respect for Justice Sarkaria. Mr H S Mattewal, Punjab Advocate General, Chief Secretary R I Singh and Justice Kehar Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court placed wreaths on behalf of the Punjab chief minister, Punjab government and the judicial fraternity respectively.

Prominent among others who also attended the cremation included, Member Parliament and General Secretary Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and a number of other prominent personalities.

UNI