Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik passes away at 79 after prolonged illness

Satya Pal Malik, the former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, passed away on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at the age of 79. He was undergoing treatment at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, which confirmed the news of his demise.

The hospital revealed that Malik had been battling several chronic health conditions, including diabetic kidney disease, hypertension, morbid obesity, and sleep apnea. He was admitted on May 11 with a severe urinary tract infection, which led to septic shock, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and multi-organ failure. Despite intensive treatment, including ventilator support, multiple antibiotics, dialysis, and other critical care interventions, his health continued to deteriorate. He succumbed to complications at 1:12 p.m.

Malik's political journey began in the 1960s, inspired by socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. Over the years, he was associated with several political parties. He was briefly part of the Congress in the 1980s and served as the general secretary of its Uttar Pradesh unit before resigning in protest over the Bofors scandal. He later co-founded the Jan Morcha, which merged into Janata Dal in 1988.

He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004 and rose to become its national vice-president by 2012. Malik played a key role in the party’s preparations for the 2014 general elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

A native of Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh and belonging to the influential Jat community, Malik also had ancestral ties to Haryana.

He was appointed as the Governor of Bihar in 2017, and a year later, he was posted to Jammu and Kashmir. Malik held the gubernatorial post when Article 370 was abrogated on August 5, 2019. Later, he was transferred to Goa and then to Meghalaya, where he served until his retirement in October 2022.