Justice AK Tripathi (retd) died of the novel coronavirus
Serving Lokpal member Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi, who had tested positive for COVID-19 a month ago, died on Saturday in the national capital after he suffered a cardiac arrest, AIIMS officials confirmed.
Justice Tripathi, 62, was one of three judicial members of Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, and was admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre last month after testing positive for coronavirus.
“It is a personal loss to me. He was a very positive man and always guided me. I have lost a friend,” Lokpal chairperson, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, told The Indian Express. “My prayers are with the family. It is a loss to our whole Lokpal family.”
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Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted, “Deeply condole the sad demise of Justice A K Tripathi. He was a distinguished judge of Patna High Court and Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh HC. We had practiced together in Patna HC. Sincere condolences to his wife Alka Tripathi & entire family.”
Justice Tripathi was one of the first COVID-19 patients to be admitted at AIIMS Trauma Centre on April 4. He was on ventilator support for more than a fortnight, sources said.
The hospital had put him off ventilator a few weeks ago after he showed some recovery, but he was again put on ventilator support, it is learnt.
“He was still positive for COVID-19 and at around 9 pm suffered a cardiac arrest,” Dr Amil Lathwal, medical superintendent of AIIMS Trauma Centre, said.
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Justice Tripathi was appointed a judicial member of Lokpal in March 2019. He also served as the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court from July 7, 2018 till March 26, 2019. Justice Tripathi, who had earlier served as the Additional Advocate General for Bihar, was elected Additional Judge of Patna High Court in October 2006.
The Supreme Court collegium elevated Justice Tripathi as the permanent judge in November 2011. Justice Tripathi, before his elevation to higher judiciary, served as the standing counsel to the Union of India and the I-T Department, among others.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
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Justice AK Tripathi (retd) died of the novel coronavirus
