Ajit Prakash Shah (born 13 February 1948 at Solapur) was the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court from May 2008 till his retirement in February 2010. He He is known for bold rulings,[1] including the world-headliner July 2009 ruling that found India's 150-year-old statute prohibiting homosexual acts as discriminatory and therefore a "violation of fundamental rights." "It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual", the bench headed by Justice AP Shah said in the judgment.[2]
He belongs to a family of lawyers; his grandfather, father and uncle were in the legal profession. His father became a Judge of Bombay High Court and upon retirement served as a Lokayukta.
Justice Shah did his graduation from Solapur and went on to the Government Law College, Mumbai for his law degree. After a short span of practice at the District Court in Solapur, he shifted to the Bombay High Court in 1977 and joined the chambers of the then-leading Advocate Shri S.C. Pratap. He gained experience in civil, constitutional, service and labour matters. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of Bombay High Court on 18 December 1992 and became the permanent Judge of Bombay High Court on 8 April 1994. He assumed charge as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court[3] on 12 November 2005 and was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on 7 May 2008.[4]
[3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][14][15]