NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice of India J S Verma, who headed the government-appointed committee to frame a tough law to tackle crime against women in the wake of the December Delhi gangrape incident, died here today. 

He was 80. Dr Yatin Mehta, head of the Institute of Critical Care and Anesthesiology, at Medanta Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon where Verma was admitted, told PTI that the former CJI breathed his last at 9:30 pm today. 

"He was brought in with liver failure and bleeding from stomach on Friday," Mehta said. 

Justice Verma was the 27th Chief Justice of India and served from March 25, 1997 until his retirement on January 18, 1998. 

He had headed the committee formed by the government to give recommendations for a stringent anti-rape law after the brutal Delhi gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedic student on December 16, 2012. Most of the recommendations of this committee, which also had Gopal Subramanian and Leela Seth as its members, were accepted by the government. 

The government passed an Ordinance based on these suggestions and an anti-rape law was passed by Parliament in the first half of the budget session this year. 

Born on January 18, 1933, Jagdish Sharan Verma had his early education in Satna, Madhya Pradesh. 

He began his legal career in 1955 and became a Judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court in June-1973. He became Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court in June,1986 and also served as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court from September, 1986 to mid-1989. 

In June, 1989, he was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court and became Chief Justice of India in January, 1998. 

Justice Verma was also a former Chairman of National Human Rights Commission. 

He was also the first Chairperson of News Broadcasting Standards Authority.

CHENNAI: Several natives of Rajasthan who live in the lanes of Sowcarpet and nearby areas were both happy and sad on Monday.


They are thrilled that Southern Railway, heeding to their requests, has announced a special summer train to Bikaner. The weekly train, which will leave Chennai Egmore every Monday and reach that city on Tuesday, will depart from Bikaner on Thursday and arrive here the next day. It will run between the two cities till the second week of June. 

However, many are disappointed that almost all tickets have been booked. Just a few second class sleeper seats are available from Chennai Egmore on two Mondays in June, while, only a few second class sleeper tickets are available on June 13 from Bikaner. 

In spite of that, members of the Sowcarpet-based Tamil Nadu Rajasthan royal association celebrated as the first summer special left Chennai Egmore for Bikaner at 3.15pm on Monday. They distributed sweets to the passengers who left by the train. 

Prakash Chand Jain, a social worker, said, "We are so happy now. Many natives of Rajasthan who have settled here have been waiting for long for a special train during summer. That dream has come true now." 

Earlier, many travelling to the northwestern state had to depend on the Jodhpur Express that runs every Saturday. 

About two weeks ago, members of the Tamil Nadu Rajasthan Royal Association had staged a "road roko" near Chennai Central railway station demanding more trains to Rajasthan ago. The protest was led by the association president, Arjun Singh Elana. The members of the association as well as some Rajasthani residents from Sowcarpet later submitted a letter to the general manager of Southern Railway in support of their demand.

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