ALIGARH : The Aligarh Muslim University fraternity deeply mourned the sad demise of Prof. Zakaria Siddiqui, former Dean, Faculty of Law, who passed away in California, USA, on Saturday, February 11, 2023.

Extending condolences to the bereaved family, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor said, “I offer my deepest condolences to Prof Siddiqui’s family and AMU community and pray for the comfort of his loved ones at this difficult time. He was a selfless soul who earned admiration, respect and esteem as an intellectual and seasoned academic for seminal work in the realm of legal studies”.

He remembered Prof Siddiqui as a family friend, who worked hard, along with his father Prof Hafeezur Rahman, for the development of the Faculty of Law into a centre of excellence. He said his demise was a personal loss to him which cannot be made up. He will be remembered by one and all for his commitment to his work, compassion toward his students, and exemplary achievements in legal studies.

Prof Siddiqui joined the Faculty of Law as a young lecturer in 1961 and stayed there until his retirement in 1997 as the Dean. He had several rewarding academic stints; he was a visiting law professor in various universities in Kashmir, Kenya, Nigeria, and Malaysia and spent a few years on pursuing criminal procedure research at the Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University in Lucknow.

His ever growing interest in technology and profound grounding in the criminal law led him to zero in on the legal implications of Cyber Law. He was actively involved in exploring it in the last few years of his retired life.

After retirement, he has been with his family in California for the past few years. He is survived by his wife Rashida Siddiqi, a retired professor of Sociology from AMU, his daughter Saba Zakaria Ahmad, and son, Faisal Zakaria Siddiqi.