Dharam Chand Chaudhary is an Indian judge. He served as a judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court from 2012 to 2020. He is also the former Acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Wiki/Biography
Dharam Chand Chaudhary was born on Wednesday, 12 March 1958 (age 65; as of 2023) in Lohara village, Balh Tehsil, Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Pisces. He grew up in a peasant family with humble origins. After completing his primary education at Government Primary School, Lohara, he studied at Government Higher Secondary School, Khatgarh (HP), Mandi district. He graduated from Government Degree College, Kullu and received his Bachelor of Laws degree from Himachal Pradesh University in 1983.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: gray
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Not much is known about his parents and siblings.
wife and children
His wife’s name is Promila Chowdhury. They have a son Prashant Chaudhary and a daughter Vatsala Chaudhary. Vatsala Chaudhary (born in 1989) is a lawyer who joined HP Judicial Services in 2016 as Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate cadre, becoming the first woman judge in Bar district.
Dharam Chand Chaudhary and his wife Promila Chaudhary praying at Shri Bhagyalaxmi Mata Mandir Charminar in Hyderabad
Dharam Chand Chaudhary with wife Promila Chaudhary and daughter Vatsala Chaudhary celebrates after passing the bar examination in Vatsala and being elected as a civil judge in 2016
Dharam Chand Chaudhary and daughter Vatsala Chaudhary
religion
He believes in Hinduism.
address
- Lohara, Tehsil Balh village and post office in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, India
- Arindam, near Aira Holme Estate Kasumpti Shimla, Himachal Pradesh – 171009
Profession
He was registered as a lawyer on May 10, 1983. For twelve years, he worked as an advocate before the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Subordinate Courts and the now defunct HP State Administrative Tribunal. He hears civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, corporate and services matters before the High Court. Apart from this, he serves as Additional Central Government Standing Legal Advisor and Legal Advisor and Standing Legal Advisor to HP Khadi & Village Industries Board, HP Milk Federation, HP Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation and HP Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (Palampur), Himachal Pradesh High Court Kangra District. He has represented the National Hydropower Corporation and Kangra Central Cooperative Bank in cases before the High Court. He was appointed as counsel for the United Commercial Bank panel representing the bank in a case before the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He served in various capacities in the Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association, including Treasurer (1986-87), Secretary (1989-1991), Vice-President and President (1993-1994). In 1994-95 he was nominated for a three-year term as an unofficial member of the HP High Court Legal Reporting Committee. He joined HP Superior Judicial Services in 1995.
Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Justice Suryakant
He became a member of the HP Higher Judicial Service on August 1, 1995, when he was appointed as Additional District and Sessions Judge through direct recruitment. In September 1995, he was posted as Additional District and Division Bench Judge, Kullu (Independent Charge), Civil and Tribunal Judge. Conference divisions Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts. He became the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Civil and Sessions Division, Shimla in June 1997 and served as District and Sessions Judge (Inspection) in December 1999 during the establishment of HP High Court Registry. He has also been appointed as District and Sessions Judge, Civil and Sessions Division, Hamirpur (2001), Chairman, District Consumer Forum, Mandi, Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul & Spiti (2004), Civil and Sessions Division, Kullu & Lahaul and Spiti Divisional District and Sessions Judge (2004) 2006). In December 2006, he served as Registrar (Rules) and Principal Secretary to the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Dharam Chand Chaudhary Lecture at Gandhar Himachal Pradesh National Law University Shimla 2017
In June 2008, he was reappointed as the Registrar (Vigilance) and Principal Secretary to the Chief Justice, Central Project Coordinator for the e-Courts Project of the Supreme Court of India. He also serves as Secretary, Legal Services Committee, Himachal Pradesh High Court. From October 7, 2010 to January 20, 2012, he served as the Chief Judge and Registrar and Principal Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. On January 21, 2012, he was promoted as Additional Judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court. On January 18, 2014, he was sworn in as a permanent judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary was appointed as a judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2014 under the administration of Acting Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir
He served as Chairman, Computer Committee, Himachal Pradesh High Court from March 4, 2014 to September 28, 2016. He served as Chairman, Legal Services Committee, HP High Court, Shimla from August 23, 2014 to November 19, 2018, and as Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Judicial College from October 25, 2016 to November 20, 2018 Dean. In 2018, he served as executive chairman of the HP State Law Services Administration. During this period he also continued to serve as Chairman/Member of various committees constituted by His Excellency the Chief Justice on administrative matters. Around June 2019, he was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. He is serving as a judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court till March 11, 2020.
Retirement Ceremony of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary 2020
On September 15, 2021, he was appointed as a Judicial Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Delhi (see Defense Ministry, New Delhi). On September 18, 2021, he assumed office as Judicial Member of the Tribunal in Chandigarh District Court. He also serves as the Head of the AFT Srinagar Tribunal Wing in Jammu. In December 2022, Justice Chowdhury (Judicial) took over as the Head of the Chandigarh District Court Division of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which handles all service and criminal matters of personnel of all ranks of the tri-forces covering Punjab, Haryana State, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh. During his tenure at the AFT Chandigarh bench, Justice Chaudhry authored many landmark judgments on military service and criminal cases involving the armed forces. These rulings often emphasize the importance of providing support and compassion to disabled soldiers and military widows.
Photo of Himachal Pradesh High Court Judge Dharam Chand Choudhary administering the oath of office to Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya at Raj Bhavan in Shimla in 2019
In 2023, Justice Chaudhry passed multiple orders asking the Ministry of Defense to implement the 2017 decision to pay pensions to some of the lowest-ranked JCO Naib Subedar. So when Chaudhry was transferred from Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Chandigarh bench to Kolkata, he made headlines. On September 26, 2023, AFT Chandigarh Bar Association filed a petition demanding a halt to the transfer of Justice Chaudhry and initiated an indefinite strike. The association wrote to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud twice, calling the transfer a “direct attack on the independence of the AFT’s judicial functions”. The association claimed that the transfer was the result of strict orders issued by Justice Chaudhry to senior government officials in the defense ministry. As of September 28, the Chandigarh Judges Association of the Armed Forces Tribunal, in its strike against the transfer of Justice Chaudhry, has received support from the Jammu and Lucknow Bar Associations, besides veterans. On October 9, 2023, the Supreme Court effectively stayed Justice Chaudhry’s transfer and directed the chairman of the tribunal to submit a report in sealed form detailing why the transfer was taking place. The Chairman explained that the AFT Kolkata Bench had a shortage of judicial staff while the Chandigarh Bench was the only court with a surplus of judicial staff. The Supreme Court, therefore, dismissed the petition filed by AFT Chandigarh Bar Association on October 13, 2023, refusing to stay the transfer of Justice Chaudhry. The court, however, asked the central government to respond to a plea to remove the powers of the federal Ministry of Defense (MOD) over the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).
Assets and property
real estate
- 1/10 Share of ancestral agricultural land located at 15-7-8 Bighas, Mohal Rinj (Lohara) Tehsil Sadar, Mandi District, HP, part of which has been constructed with two-storey house
- The purchased land area is 451.50 square meters. Includes Khasra No.73, Khatauni No.93, Khasra No.959, Mohal Kasumpti Koti, Hadbast No.11, Tehsil and Shimla districts (city)
movable property
- A gold ring weighs 9.30
Note: Movable and immovable property estimates given are based on fiscal year 2012. Excludes assets owned by his wife and dependents.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education