New Delhi, March 23 : Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ramesh Chandra Lahoti passed away on Wednesday evening. He was 82-year-old, according to family sources. Justice Lahoti, was appointed as the CJI on June 1, 2004, and retired on November 1, 2005. Justice Lahoti was born on November 1, 1940. In a condolence message, Pradeep Rai, Vice-President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and senior Supreme Court lawyer, tweeted Former ChiefJustice of India Justice R C Lahoti is no more. He was one of the finest Chief had ever known. May his soul rest in peace. He joined the Bar in District Guna in 1960 and enrolled as an Advocate in 1962. In 1977, he was recruited directly from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service and was appointed as a District and Sessions Judge. After functioning as a District & Sessions Judge for a year, he resigned in May 1978 and reverted to the Bar for practice mainly in the High Court. He was appointed Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 3, 1988, and made a permanent Judge on August 4, 1989. He was transfer to Delhi High Court in 1994. SM GNK