Justice Leila Seth (86) died the way she lived — in the service of people. The first woman chief justice of a high court in India and author Vikram Seth’s mother donated her organs before her death, her family said.”She died of a cardiac seizure on May 7. My brother Vikram, sister and our other family members are here,” her younger son Shantum Seth told PTI.
“She died of a cardiac seizure on May 7. My brother Vikram, sister and our other family members are here,” her younger son Shantum Seth told PTI.
Her family said there would be no funeral as she had pledged to donate her organs.
“My mother has donated her eyes and other organs for transplant or medical research purposes. So we will not have a funeral,” Shantum said.
On May 28, there would be a prayer meeting in her honour, he added.
Seth was one of the three members of the Justice Verma Committee which was constituted after the December 16 2012 gangrape in Delhi for recommending legal amendments for quicker trials and enhanced punishments for criminals accused of committing sexual assaults against women.
Seth, who broke many a glass ceiling in the legal field, was the first woman from India to have topped the London Bar exam, the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and also the first woman chief justice of a state high court (Himachal Pradesh).
She started her legal practice at the Patna High Court, where she spent 10 years from till 1969 before moving to Delhi. Her husband, Premo Seth, worked in the private sector.
