Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi : Former Chief Justice of India

Ahmadi was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1988 after serving as a judge in the Gujarat High Court. He was later appointed Chief Justice, a position he held from 1994 until 1997. For two times, he presided as Aligarh Muslim University's chancellor.

Early Life and Career

Ahmadi became a member of the Bar in 1954 after completing his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). In 1964, he was finally appointed as a judge of Ahmedabad's City Civil & Sessions Court. In 1974, Ahmadi was appointed Secretary of the State of Gujarat's Legal Affairs. Shortly after, in 1976, he was named a Judge of the Gujarat High Court. As a judge of the Gujarat High Court, Ahmadi served as the chairman of several advisory boards including

• Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities

• Prevention of Black Marketing

• Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities.

Additionally, as a member of the Ravi & Beas Waters Disputes Tribunal, he took part in the Rajiv-Longowal Settlement (Punjab Settlement). In the end, this led to a nomination in December 1988 for a Justice position on the Supreme Court of India.

Professional Journey

Likewise, justice Ahmadi’s professional journey can be concluded as:

In October 1994, Ahmadi was appointed Chief Justice of India after six years. The third Muslim to hold the position of Chief Justice of India was Ahmadi. He eventually retired in March 1997 after serving for two and a half years.

On September 13, 1996, Justice Ahmadi, then the Chief Justice of India, concurred with Justice Majmundar's opinion in the UCC case that the offense was covered by section 304A of the IPC rather than section 304(II) of the IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

After the accused were later tried under Section 304A, found guilty, and given a 2-year sentence, NGO protests prompted the government to submit a curative appeal with the Supreme Court, which was ultimately dismissed by a 5-judge panel that agreed with the Justice Ahmadi bench's position.

Notable Judgments

It includes −

• The court in S. R. Bommai v. India was required to assess the extent of the president's powers with regard to enforcing the President's rule under Article 356. The panel, which included Justice Ahmadi, determined that the President's authority in this matter was not unqualified and that, in order to exercise it, the President would need the consent of both Houses of Parliament. The court also decided that judicial review might be exercised over the President's authority granted by Article 356.

• The majority in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India held, among other things, that Article 16(4), which permits the State to make reservations, was not an exception to Article 16(1), which ensures that all citizens have equality of opportunity in all matters of employment, but rather a feature of the equality of opportunity guaranteed in clause 16. The bench also stated that castes might be included in any class of society that was economically and socially backward in order to receive quota benefits.

• The question in Keshub Mahindra v. State of Madhya Pradesh was whether Keshub Mahindra could be tried for culpable homicide that did not amount to murder under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code for having knowledge that the gas in the Bhopal Union Carbide plant was highly toxic and could kill many people upon escape. Justice Ahmadi and Justice Majumdar made up the division bench. The bench responded in the positive and decided that Section 304A did not call for the accused to have had any prior knowledge of the offense.

Post-Retirement Career

After retirement, Justice Ahmadi served as −

Chancellor at Aligarh

Ahmadi joined the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University as Chancellor after leaving the Supreme Court. Ahmadi was re-elected as Aligarh's chancellor for three years in 2007. He has received invitations to speak at universities and conferences all around the world since beginning his academic career. He has used his position, particularly in India, to speak out on political matters like minority rights.

Muslim Rights

Ahmadi, who is a Muslim, continues to advocate for Muslim rights in India by using his status. He is still involved in Indian politics today as a supporter of minority rights, most recently with the publication of the city-based Human Welfare Trust's book A Guide To Uplift Minorities. Ahmadi has frequently noted that the large Muslim population of India struggles to enroll children in school, placing emphasis on education. The country "just cannot afford to have a certain percentage of population unable to contribute to the country's development," he says, urging both the federal and state governments to address this issue.

Arbitrations

He is a highly sought-after arbitrator in both domestic and international arbitration cases of significant value.

Fact	Detail
Name	Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi
Date of Birth	25th March 1932
Spouse	Amena Ahmadi
Official Tenure	25 October 1994 – 24 March 1997
Preceded by	M. N. Venkatachaliah
Succeeded by	J. S. Verma
As Judge	Judge of the Gujarat High Court Judge of the Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India

FAQs

Q1. Who had appointed Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi as the chief justice of India?

Ans. Former President Shankar Dayal Sharma was the one who appointed Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi, as chief justice of India.

Q2. Before being appointed as judge, in which court was Justice Altamas Kabir practicing law?

Ans. Before being appointed as judge, justice Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi was practicing law at Gujarat High Court.