Legendary classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passes away
Mumbai: Legendary Indian classical musician and Padma Vibhushan awardee Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passed away on Sunday afternoon at his residence here. He was 89.
Khan's daughter-in-law Namrata Gupta Khan told PTI that the veteran breathed his last at 12.37 pm at his Bandra home.
"Today morning he was fine. We had a 24 hour nurse at home. During his massage he vomited and I ran immediately his eyes were shut and he was breathing slowly. I tried connecting to doctors and when they came he had already died," Namrata told PTI.
She said the family is in shock due to Khan's sudden demise as he was keeping well. The musician was going to turn 90 on March 3.
Khan had suffered a brain stroke in 2019 and left side of his body was paralysed. Namrata also shared the news of Khan's demise on her Facebook page.
"With a very heavy heart, I inform you all that my father,-in law the pillar of our family and a legend of our nation, Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan sahab has left for his heavenly abode few mins ago," she posted on the social media platform.
Khan's last rites will be performed at Santacruze Kabrastan later this evening.
Born on March 3, 1931 in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, Khan was the eldest son in a family of four brothers and three sisters.
His father, Ustad Waris Hussain Khan was the son of celebrated musician Ustad Murred Baksh, while his mother, Sabri Begum, was the daughter of Ustad Inayat Husain Khan, credited as the founder of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of music.
Khan got his basic classical music training from his father and later studied music under his cousin, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhusan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003 he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artistes.
Soon after Khan's demise his collaborators from Indian music industry including legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and music composer AR Rahman took too social media to pay tributes to the maestro.
Mangeshkar said she was "deeply saddened" by the news of Khan's death.
"I got to know the news of passing away of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saheb. I am deeply saddened. He was not only a very good singer but also a very good human being," she said, adding, her niece had also learnt music from him.
Rahman remembered Khan as the "sweetest teacher".
"The sweetest teacher of all... May the Ghafoor-ur-Rahim give you a special place in the next world #UstadGhulamMustafa," he wrote.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan said Khan's passing away has left him heartbroken.
"He was one of the most respected and versatile Vocalists of our country. My deepest condolences to his family. May his soul Rest In Peace," he tweeted.
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HC questions Delhi govt over failure to regulate sale of old vehicles, refers to Red Fort blast
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court questioned the city government on Wednesday over its failure to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles, while pointing out that in a recent bomb blast near the Red Fort, a second-hand car was used, making the issue more significant.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Delhi government to file a detailed response on the issue of regulating authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
"A car changes four hands but the original owner has not changed. Therefore, what happens? That man (the original owner) goes to the slaughterhouse? What is this? How are you permitting this? You will take a call when two-three more bomb blasts take place?" the bench asked the Delhi government's counsel.
The bomb blast near the iconic Mughal-era monument was carried out using a second-hand car, making the issue even more significant, it said.
The court listed the matter for further hearing in January 2026.
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The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by an organisation, Towards Happy Earth Foundation, highlighting the challenges in the implementation of rules 55A to 55H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, introduced in December 2022 to regulate authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
While the rules were intended to bring accountability to the second-hand vehicle market, the petitioner's counsel argued that they have failed in practice due to regulatory gaps and procedural hurdles.
The plea said there is a major gap in the amended framework, that is, the absence of any statutory mechanism for reporting dealer-to-dealer transfers.
"In reality, most used vehicles pass through multiple dealers before reaching the final buyer, but the rules recognise only the first transfer to the initial authorised dealer.
"As a result, the chain of custody breaks after the first step, defeating the very purpose of accountability," the petition said.
It added that because of these gaps, only a very small percentage of dealers across India have been able to obtain authorised dealer registration and in Delhi, not a single dealer has got it.
Consequently, lakhs of vehicles continue to circulate without any record of who is actually in possession of those, it said.
The plea said only a small fraction of India's estimated 30,000 to 40,000 used-vehicle dealers are registered under the authorised-dealer framework.
The petition also pointed out that the 11-year-old vehicle used in the November 10 bomb blast near the Red Fort was sold several times but was still registered in its original owner's name.
The blast near the Red Fort had claimed 15 lives.
