Ranjana Desai

Ranjana Prakash Desai (born 30 October 1949) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and the head of the Delimitation Commission of India. She was previously a public prosecutor for the State of Maharashtra, and served as a judge on the Bombay High Court before her appointment from the Supreme Court. Following her retirement from the Supreme Court, Desai was the chairperson of the Indian Appellate Tribunal for Electricity.[1]

Ranjana Desai
Judge of the Supreme Court of India
In office
13 September 2011 – 29 October 2014
Judge of the Bombay High Court
In office
1996–2011
Personal details
Born (1949-10-30) 30 October 1949
SpousePrakash Desai

Early life and education

Desai's father was the criminal lawyer S. G. Samant. Desai completed her Bachelor of Arts from the Elphinstone College in 1970 and Bachelor of Laws from the Government Law College, Bombay in 1973.[2]

Career

Desai enrolled as an advocate on 30 July 1973, and began practicing law, working in the chambers of S.C. Pratap before he was appointed as judge in the Bombay High Court, as well as with her father, S.G. Samant, who practiced criminal law.[2] In 1979, Desai began working as an Assistant Government Pleader in the Bombay High Court, appearing for the Government of Maharashtra, and in 1983, was appointed as an Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor for the State of Maharashtra.[3] In 1986, Desai was appointed as the State of Maharashtra's Special Public Prosecutor in cases concerning preventive detention.[3] In 1995, she began appearing for the Government of Maharashtra as a government pleader in appeals at the Bombay High Court.[2]

High Court of Bombay

Desai was initially appointed as an additional judge at the Bombay High Court on 15 April 1996 for a period of two years, and was confirmed as a permanent judge on 12 April 1998. She continued to serve as a judge on the Bombay High Court until she was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011.[3]

Supreme Court of India

On 13 September 2011, Desai was appointed as a judge at the Supreme Court of India and served in that capacity until 2014.[4] She was the fifth woman to be appointed as an Indian Supreme Court judge.[5]

Electricity Appellate Tribunal

Desai took charge as chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity on 1 December 2014 in New Delhi and continued to serve in that capacity until 29 October 2019.[6]

Advance Ruling Authority [Income Tax]

Desai was appointed as Chairperson of the Advance Ruling Authority [Income Tax] in 2018 and held the position until 29 October 2019.[1]

Lokpal appointment committee

On 28 September 2018, the Government of India constituted a search committee of eight, chaired by Desai, under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, to search for and recommend a chairperson and members for India's anti-corruption ombudsman agency, the Lokpal.[7] The Committee provided its recommendations to the Selection Committee on 28 February 2020.[8]

Delimitation Commission of India

Desai was appointed as the chairperson of the Delimitation Commission of India on 13 March 2020.[1]

Uniform civil code committee

Desai was appointed as the Head of the Uttarakhand UCC committee on 28 May 2022.[9]

Press Council of India

Desai was appointed as the chairperson of the Press Council of India. Her term started on June 17, 2022.

Jurisprudence

On 8 May 2012, the Supreme Court bench composed of Ranjana Desai and Altamas Kabir ordered the government to end the Haj subsidy by 2022.[10][11] On 27 September 2013, in a landmark decision, a three-judge bench consisting of the Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Desai and Ranjan Gogoi ruled that the right to register a "none of the above" vote in elections should apply. The court said that negative voting would lead to systemic change in polls and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates.[12] The Election Commission said that the judgement will be implemented immediately.[13][14]

References
  1. Election Commission of India (11 May 2020). "Hon'ble Justice Smt Ranjana Prakash Desai has taken over the charge of Chairperson Delimitation Commission". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  2. "Appellate Tribunal For Electricity". aptel.gov.in. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  3. High Court of Judicature at Bombay. "Justice R.P. Desai". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. Apoorva (1 December 2014). "Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai takes over as Aptel chairperson". www.livemint.com/. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  5. "City Brief". The Indian Express. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  6. "Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjana Desai took charge as chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity on December 1, 2014 in New Delhi. - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  7. "Centre forms eight-member Lokpal Commitee [sic] headed by Justice Ranjana Desai; Arundhati Bhattacharya, ISRO chief among members". Firstpost. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  8. IANS (7 March 2019). "When will Selection Committee meet to select Lokpal, asks SC". TheQuint. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  9. "Uttarakhand Government Forms Expert Committee to Examine & Implement Uniform Civil Code in State". 28 May 2022.
  10. "SC strikes down Haj subsidy - Livemint". www.livemint.com. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  11. "Supreme Court disapproves Haj subsidy, to be eliminated within 10 years". The Economic Times. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  12. "Highlights of SC judgement giving voter the right to reject all candidates - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  13. Jain, Bharti (27 September 2013). "Will implement voters' right to reject candidates straight away: Election Commission". Times of India. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  14. "Voters have right to reject, poll panel must give them option, says Supreme Court". Hindustan Times. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
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