He died in office on 26 January 2012 at 9:10 pm at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, due to multiple myeloma and kidney related ailments. He was 74 years old at the time of his death. He was the second governor who died in office, after Sikander Bakht, and is the shortest-served governor of Kerala.[8][9] He was hospitalised for more than a month, and his condition deteriorated in the days preceding his death.