Former Advocate General Kazmi dies in road mishap

Former Advocate General of UP and senior advocate of the Allahabad High Court SMA Kazmi died in a road accident near Kunda in Pratapgarh on Tuesday afternoon.

Three other persons accompanying him in a Tata Safari were seriously injured and were rushed to SRN Hospital in Allahabad. Sources said that Kazmi left the Allahabad High Court in the noon for lucknow to appear in a case. The driver suddenly swerved the vehicle in an attempt to save a motorcycle rider near Bhadari turn in Kunda but lost control and hit a tree on the roadside. While Kazmi died in the accident, the other occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, were grievously injured. The local police rushed the injured persons to Allahabad. Kazmi, who was born in Kanpur, started legal practice at the Allahabad High Court in 1980, said Qamrul Hasan Siddiqi, his one time junior and now Chief Standing Counsel at the High Court.

Kazmi is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son who recently started practice at the Allahabad High Court. The burial of Kazmi will take place at Rasoolpur graveyard in Kareli on Wednesday morning. UP Cabinet Minister Azam Khan and other dignitaries will attend the last rites. The Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is also expected to be present on the occasion. Kazmi, who was close to Mulayam Singh Yadav and Azam Khan, was appointed Advocate General in 2006 during the Samajwadi Party regime.  later, he left Mulayam and Samajwadi Party to protest the former’s  closeness to Kalyan Singh and joined the BSP before 2009 general elections.