Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir dead

Born on July 19, 1948, Kabir enrolled as an advocate in 1973, taking up both civil and criminal cases in the district courts and the Calcutta High Court.

Kolkata, Feb 19: Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir died here on Sunday following a brief illness. He was 68. Condoling Kabir's death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the country has lost a legal luminary.

"My thoughts with his family/colleagues. India and Bengal have lost a legal luminary," she said in a tweet. Kabir served as the 39th Chief Justice of India from September 29, 2012, to July 19, 2013, when he retired.

Born on July 19, 1948, Kabir enrolled as an advocate in 1973, taking up both civil and criminal cases in the district courts and the Calcutta High Court. He was appointed as a permanent Judge in the Calcutta High Court on August 6, 1990, and went on to become the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on March 1, 2005.

He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on September 9, 2005.

--IANS