Rajesh Bindal is an Indian judge who was appointed as a Supreme Court judge on February 10, 2023. He served as Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, Acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, and Acting Chief Judge of Calcutta High Court.
Wiki/Biography
Rajesh Bindal was born on Sunday, April 16, 1961, in Ambala, Haryana (age 62; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Aries. He attended SA Jain Senior Model School, Ambala. He studied Bachelor of Commerce from Punjab University, Chandigarh. In 1985, he pursued his LLB degree from Kurukshetra University, Thanesar, Haryana.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Not much information is available about his family.
wife and children
His marital status is unknown.
Profession
After completing his studies, he joined the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 14, 1985. In 1992, he started working at the Central Administrative Tribunal. From 1992 to 2006, he represented the Chandigarh government before the Central Administrative Tribunal. He also represents the Employee Provider Fund Organization of Punjab and Haryana in the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal. He specializes in tax, constitutional, civil and services cases. He is the standing legal advisor to the IT department and other central and state government organizations. He was also involved in the Satluj Yamuna Water dispute between Haryana and Punjab and represented Haryana before the Eradi Tribunal and the Supreme Court. On March 22, 2006, he was appointed as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He began serving as chairman of the court’s Computer Committee and Arrears Committee. In the same year, he delivered a judgment with Justice BS Walia on the Punjab Caste and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act. In the judgment, they said 20% reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes promotion in category C and D government services and 14% in category A and B government services. On October 26, 2018, he was recommended to be transferred to the Madras High Court, but after he filed a review petition in the North India High Court, he was transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. On November 19, 2018, he was appointed as a judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which is the joint high court of Ladakh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. On December 9, 2020, he was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court by the then President Ram Nath Kovind. On January 5, 2021, he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court as a judge through the nomination of CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde. The Ministry of Law and Justice said in the order,
In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 222(1) of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to transfer to Jammu, Justice Rajesh Bindal, Judge of the General High Court of the Union Territories and Judge of the Calcutta High Court in the Union Territories of Kashmir and Ladakh. “
On April 29, 2021, he was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. On June 27, 2021, the West Bengal Bar Association appealed to CJI NV Ramana seeking his removal from office on the ground of “interference in the administration of fair and impartial administration of justice”, following which he was removed from office. On October 11, 2021, he was sworn in as the Chief Judge of the Allahabad High Court. On February 10, 2023, he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India along with Chief Justice Aravind Kumar of the Gujarat High Court. These names were recommended to the collegiate panel on January 31, 2023. On February 6, 2023, five other judges were appointed to the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court Pankaj Mittal, Chief Justice of the Patna High Court Sanjay Carroll, Mani Purpur High Court Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Patna High Court Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Allahabad High Court Justice Manoj Misra.
Facts/Trivia
- In 2017, he delivered judgment in a petition case challenging the Bar Council of India (BCI) Rules (2006). In the petition filed by advocate Virender Pal Sharma, he challenged the use of the words “Your Excellency” and “Honourable Court” by the Supreme Court and High Courts and the use of the word “Sir” by the lower courts and tribunals. The case was resolved as the complainant was unable to provide adequate evidence to substantiate his complaint.
- In April 2018, he submitted a report on the civil aspects of the International Child Abduction Act when he was the chairperson of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. In the report, he also made recommendations on the Protection of Children (International Transfer and Retention) Bill.
- While he served as a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he settled around 80,000 cases and was a member of committees such as the Computer Committee and Arrears Committee.
- In November 2018, he submitted another report based on the Electronic Evidence Framework Rules to the Supreme Court.
- In October 2019, he delivered a verdict on begging in Jammu and Kashmir. The judgment came after lawyer Suhail Rashid Bhat filed a petition against the J&K Prevention of Begging Act (1960) and the Prevention of Begging Rules (1967). In his petition, he said the anti-begging law was “unconstitutional” and violated Articles 14, 15, 20 and 21 of the Constitution. In his verdict, Bindal said begging has been decriminalized in Jammu and Kashmir.
- While serving as Acting Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, he also served as Chairman of the High Court Finance Committee, Building and Infrastructure Committee, Information Technology Committee, State Court Management System Committee and Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and Kashmir State Law service organization. He also chairs committees for NALSA and state legal services agencies to evaluate the best uses of technology. He also made suggestions on the existing framework of Lok Adalats and how the ADR mechanism can be improved for the poor.
- In 2021, he attended the ‘Full Bench Welcoming Reference’ ceremony at the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court and spoke about how to resolve pending cases in the Allahabad High Court since 1974. He stated at the meeting,
We all know that lawyers and judges have to work together, they are two wheels of the same chariot…and by working together we will be able to serve the litigants in society. “
- In June 2022, he met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Gitapress in Gorakhpur and talked about how technology can be used to solve cases. Allahabad is the largest city and the number of pending cases is high but lawyers and judges are trying to resolve the cases with the help of technology, he told the meeting.
- In December 2022, he removed a jamadar from an Allahabad court when he came to know that he was a Paytm UPI collecting tips inside the court. The worker sticks the OR code on his uniform to receive funds in the form of Dakshina.
- The High Court Judge ranks second in seniority in all India.
- He is reportedly the senior most judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education