Allahabad High Court ex-judge commits suicide

Lucknow, June 14 (IANS) Former Allahabad High Court judge M.A. Khan committed suicide early Thursday by jumping from his fourth-floor flat in the posh Gomtinagar area of Lucknow.

Police said Khan was depressed, and leapt out from his fourth-floor flat around 3 in the morning. The former judge lived with his wife Shamshul Jahan, who told the police that he had taken some anti-depressants before going to bed Wednesday night.

The body, lying in a pool of blood on the ground floor, was discovered by the watchman of the apartments building.

Khan was suffering from depression since the death of his son, Kishwar Ali Khan, 11 months back.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visited the bereaved family and paid his condolences.

The body, after autopsy and embalming, was flown by helicopter to Khan's hometown of Saharanpur for funeral.

Khan, who was 68, was best known for his verdict in the split judgment on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators' defection case a few years back, which came as a relief to the then Samajwadi Party (SP) government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

He retired from the Allahabad High Court in 2005 and was appointed Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) by the Samajwadi Party government in 2006. He retired in 2008 after a two-year stint.