FORMER Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago Satnarine Sharma has passed away.
He died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday morning at his Maraval home. He was 76 and was receiving treatment after being recently being diagnosed with cancer.
Sharma was TT’s eighth Chief Justice after Independence in 1962 and was the head of the judiciary from 2002 to 2008.
He was the ex-officio recipient of the Trinity Cross in 2003 and also received the Chaconia Medal (Gold) for the development of law in 1998.
Sharma retired from the judiciary in 2008 after he was cleared by an independent panel in an impeachment probe concerning allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He was called to the Bar in 1966 and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1983 and just five years later he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
Sharma loved West Indies cricket, listened to Classical Indian and Swahili music as well as old time calyposes. He used to be seen taking walks around the Queen’s Park Savannah.
His achievements included presiding over the introduction of the new Civil Proceedings Rules 1998 and reducing the backlog of magisterial appeals.
