Satya Pal Malik, Indian politician and former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, passed away at the age of 79 on 5 August 2025. The former Rajya Sabha member had been undergoing treatment for a kidney-related issue and was admitted on May 11. He passed away at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after a prolonged illness.
The former governor had a history of kidney disease, hypertension, and other chronic illnesses. The cremation will take place on 6 August 2025 at the Lodhi Crematorium.
Satya Pal had shared a health update on social media on July 8, describing his condition as serious. The hospital where he was admitted expressed deep regret over the demise of the former governor. In their statement, the hospital said, “He was admitted with us on 11-5-2025 at 12:04 p.m. with a complicated urinary tract infection and subsequently developed refractory septic shock secondary to urinary tract infection, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and multi-organ dysfunction.”
Malik was born on 24 July 1946 in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. In his political career, he served as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Odisha, Goa, and Meghalaya. He entered politics in the 1960s after being inspired by the socialist ideology of Ram Manohar Lohia. He became the All-India General Secretary of the newly formed 'Lok Dal' in 1975, and five years later, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a Lok Dal member.
He also served as the General Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee before quitting the party in 1984. In 2017, Satya Pal Malik was appointed as the Governor of Bihar and was transferred to Jammu and Kashmir in August 2018. He served as the Governor of J&K from 23 August 2018 to 30 October 2019. In November 2019, he was appointed as the Governor of Goa, and just nine months later, on 18 August 2020, he was appointed as the Governor of Meghalaya.
Malik supported movements such as the farmers’ protest and the wrestlers' protest, and faced threats of arrest. In a post, he stated, “I want to tell the government and its agencies that I come from the farmer community; I am neither one to fear nor one to bow down.” [Rh/Eth/VS]
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