Eminent jurist, Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP and former BJP stalwart Ram Jethmalani passed away on Sunday at the age of 95, his family members said.
Jethmalani breathed his last at 7.45 am at his official residence in New Delhi, his son Mahesh Jethmalani told the media.
Mahesh and other close acquaintances said Ram Jethmalani was not keeping well for a few months.
He passed away a few days before his 96th birthday on September 14, his son said.
Mahesh said his father’s last rites will be performed in the evening at the Lodhi road crematorium here.
Besides Mahesh Jethmalani, the former Union minister is survived by his daughter based in the US. His other daughter, Rani Jethmalani, died in 2011.
Jethmalani was a Rajya Sabha member from RJD. He served as law and urban development minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but even during his days in the BJP he would never hold back on criticising his own party. Later, in 2004 he contested against Vajpayee from Lucknow in the Lok Sabha election. He had represented the BJP in the Lower House from Mumbai twice.
He was born in Shikarpur in Sindh province (now in Pakistan) on September 14, 1923 and obtained a law degree at the age of 17.
