Ranchi: Jharkhand Lokayukta DN Upadhyay, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in Delhi's AIIMS, passed away at 2.30 pm on Monday. A pall of gloom descended in the state following Upadhyay's demise. Justice Upadhyay tested positive for COVID-19 on May 15 and was initially admitted to Rampyari Hospital in Bariatu, Ranchi. On May 25, was admitted to another hospital. However, on June 11, when his health condition worsened, he was shifted to AIIMS and put on ventilator support.
As a judge of Jharkhand High Court, Justice Upadhyay had delivered several path-breaking verdicts. After his retirement from the High Court, he was appointed as the Lokayukta of Jharkhand for a year. The 67-year-old was to retire from the post of Lokayukta Jharkhand in February 2022.
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Born on August 10, 1954, at Jamshedpur, Justice Dhruv Narayan Upadhyay completed schooling from RD TATA Higher Secondary School in the city and graduated from Co-operative College. He studied LLB from the same college. He joined the 'BAR' on January 3, 1979, and practised at the Jamshedpur Civil Court from 1979 to 1997. He also served as the General Secretary of District BAR Association between 1992 to 1996 and was a visiting faculty member in Law Department, Co-operative College for about six months. Later, he joined Bihar Superior Judicial Service as the Additional District Judge, Giridih, in May 1997. He was promoted as the District & Sessions Judge in January 2002.
Justice Upadhyay, who was distinguished as soft-spoken since childhood, did not shy away from commenting on the flaws in the government system as a Lokayukta. He even demanded to strengthen the role of Lokayukta to check and curb the corruption spread in the state. The Jharkhand High Court Advocates Association described his death as an "irreparable loss for Jharkhand".
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