Markandey Katju

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Mr. Justice Markandey Katju is a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of India

He was born in Allahabad on 20-9-1946. He was appointed as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 1991, as the Acting Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in August 2004, as the Chief Justice of the Chennai High Court in November 2004 and as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in October 2005. He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India in April 2006.

Justice Katju’s background is noteworthy because of his record of academic excellence and his familiy’s achievements in the field of Law. He was a brilliant scholar and topped the merit list of the Allahabad University's LLB examination of 1968. His grandfather Kailash Nath Katju, was well known in the fields of Law and Politics. His father was a Judge of the Allahabad High Court and later his uncle was the Chief Justice of the same court.

Justice Katju has served as a Member, International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARIJ). He is a legal luminary and has written several notable books. These include ‘Law in the Scientific Era’, ‘Interpretation of Taxing Statutes’, ‘Mimansa Rules of Interpretation’ and ‘Domestic Enquiry’.

Justice Katju’s judgments are considered bold and path breaking. As Chief Justice of Madras High Court, in the case of Rama Muthuramalingam v. Dy.S.P, AIR 2005 Madras 1, on the constitutional question of inter se relationship between the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive he emphasized judicial restraint and the impropriety of the judiciary encroaching onto the legislative or executive domain. His views on contempt of court have been hailed as revolutionary by the Indian press (refer Fali Nariman’s article in ‘Indian Express’). He is considered one of the doyens of the Indian judiciary and the Indian legal fraternity