Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta, the first Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court and a distinguished jurist, passed away on February 15. He was 78.

Born on September 10, 1947, Justice Gupta pursued his early education in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir before earning his LL.B from Delhi University. He enrolled as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council on July 23, 1970 and practiced before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and later served as the State's Advocate General.

He was made a judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in 1990 and was transferred to Calcutta High Court in 1996.

In 2000, he was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the newly formed Jharkhand High Court, following the bifurcation of Bihar. Soon after, he was formally elevated as the first Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on December 5, 2000.

He was later transferred to the Himachal Pradesh High Court as its Chief Justice in March 2003 and served there till February 2008.

On February 2, 2008, he assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, a position he held until his retirement on September 9, 2009.