Gujarat OBC commission chairperson Sugnya Bhatt dies of Covid

A family friend said, “Following weak health, Sugnyaben was admitted to a private hospital recently.”

Bhatt ceased to be a High Court judge from January 2, 1995.

Former judge of the Gujarat High Court and sitting Chairperson of the Other Backward Class Commission of the Gujarat government Sugnya Bhatt died of Covid-related complications at a private hospital in Ahmedabad Thursday morning. She was 80 and is survived by her younger sister Bharati.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Bharati confirmed that her elder sister died Thursday morning while battling Covid-19. She added, “Everything happened very abruptly and she passed away this (Thursday) morning.”

A family friend of the Bhatts said, “Following weak health, Sugnyaben was admitted to a private hospital recently. She was discharged after improvement in health. However, the day before yesterday (Tuesday), her health deteriorated and was again shifted to the hospital. She was diagnosed with Covid-19. Today, she died of multi-organ failure during treatment.”

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Bhatt was enrolled as an advocate of the Gujarat High Court on February 28, 1968 and she was later directly appointed Judge of Ahmedabad City Civil Court on October 1, 1989. Subsequently, she was promoted and appointed as the Additional Principal Judge of Ahmedabad City Civil Court in November 1990.

She was then elevated to higher judiciary and was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in 1994. She was then transferred to Kerala High Court but she refused to resume her duties there in protest citing personal reasons. She ceased to be a High Court judge from January 2, 1995.

Bhatt also headed an inquiry commission set up by the Gujarat government into illegal snooping on a woman architect allegedly by a top minister and IPS officers in 2009.

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