Jaitly, whose first wife was Samajwadi Janata Party leader Jaya Jaitly, was the Chief Secretary of the state during the turbulent period of 1996 to 2002.
Ater his retirement in 2002, the 1964 batch IAS officer served as Advisor to Abdullah for a period of six months.
Jaitly was the second-longest serving Chief Secretary of the state after Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad who was in the post for 10 years from 1954 to 1964.
Jaitly is survived by his second wife Sabina and two children from Jaya Jaitly.
His cremation will take place tomorrow at Lodhi Road electric crematorium.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condoled his death. In his tweet, Omar said "very sorry to hear about the demise of Ashok Jaitly, former Chief Secretary and a close confidant of my father. May his soul rest in peace.