H.L. Dattu: Former Chief Justice of India

Having been born the year the Indian Constitution was adopted and enrolling in law school precisely 25 years later, Justice Dattu has come a long way in his life since he first began practicing law in Bangalore, where he focused on tax, civil, criminal, and constitutional issues. Justice Dattu was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Karnataka on December 18, 1995.

Personal Details

On December 3, 1950, in the village of Chikkapattanagere in Karnataka's Chikmagalur district, Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu was born. English instructor H. L. Narayanaswamy was his father. He finished his elementary schooling in Kadur, Tarikere, and Birur before relocating to Bangalore to do his LLB.

Carrier

On October 23, 1975, Dattu enrolled at the bar as an advocate and began working in Bengaluru. From 1983 to 1990, he represented the sales tax department as government counsel in the Karnataka High Court. From 1990 to 1993, he served as a government advocate. From 1992 to 1993, he served as standing counsel for the income tax division. From 1993 to 1995, he served as senior standing counsel for the income tax division. On December 18, 1995, Dattu was named a Karnataka High Court judge. He was then appointed Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court on February 12, 2007.

He was appointed to lead the Kerala High Court on May 18, 2007. On the advice of CJI R M Lodha, the President of India named Dattu as the new Chief Justice of India on September 5, 2014. He was sworn in as the 42nd Chief Justice of India on September 28, 2014. One of the longest tenures for a CJI in recent years, he held the position for just over a year before retiring on December 2, 2015, at the age of 65. Former CJI P Sathasivam proposed Dattu as the CJI's choice for the five-person panel that will select the Lokpal in February 2014. He is a guest at Raipur's Hidayatullah National Law University.

Justice Dattu was born the year the Indian Constitution was adopted and enrolled in law school exactly 25 years later, when he was appointed India's 41st Chief Justice. With a focus on taxation, civil, criminal, and constitutional law, Justice Dattu began his legal career in Bangalore. He previously held positions as Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court and the Chhattisgarh High Court before being elevated to the Supreme Court of India's bench in 2008. On September 28, 2014, he was named Chief Justice of India, a position he held for just fourteen months before resigning on December 2, 2015.

He served on the panel that commuted Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar's death sentence to life in prison because of his mental condition and the government's excessive delay in responding to his petition for compassion. This decision broadened the application of Indian law to instances involving death sentences. Dattu became the seventh chairperson of the national human rights commission when he took office as chair of the Indian National Human Rights Commission in February 2016.

Dattu is renowned for his love of laborious labor. He calls S. Rajendra Babu, a former CJI, his guru. He has also made contributions to the social service sector through groups like the Rotary Club. He also appreciates Carnatic music. He is regarded as a disciplinarian and well-known for his diligence.

Fact	Detail
Name	Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu
Date of Birth	3rd December 1950, Chikkapattanagere, Mysore
Alma Mater	Bachelor of Laws from Bengaluru
Official Tenure	18th December 1995 – 2nd December 2015
President	Pranab Mukherjee
Preceded by	Rajendra Mall Lodha
Succeeded by	T.S. Thakur
As Judge	Judge of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Judge of Supreme Court Chief Justice of India

Notable Decision

Justice Dattu issued a number of important rulings. He served on the panel that commuted Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar's death sentence to life in prison due to his mental illness and the government's excessive delay in responding to his appeal for mercy, changing the legal landscape in India for cases involving death sentences. In addition, Justice Dattu presided over the bench that exonerated 11 people accused of violating anti-terror laws, reminding Gujarat police that no innocent person should be labeled a terrorist and imprisoned merely because he is a member of a minority group.

While granting bail to five big corporations in the 2G case, Justice Dattu issued a landmark decision declaring that "bail is the rule and jail is the exception." "The courts owe more than rhetorical deference to the idea that punishment begins after conviction, and that every man is deemed innocent until duly tried and formally proven guilty," he remarked, co-authoring this decision with Justice G. S. Singhvi on the bench.

Justice Dattu upheld press freedom by overturning an Allahabad High Court ruling that instructed the Center to forbid media from reporting on the contentious army movements close to the national capital in 2012.

The black money issue, which had been put on hold for a while, made headlines once more when Justice Dattu dismissed the UPA government's appeal and began hearing the case. He immediately authorised the Special Investigation Team's formation, which had been mandated by the Supreme Court back in 2011. He served on the Constitution Bench that ruled Kerala's law limiting the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam to 136 feet was "unconstitutional" while upholding Tamil Nadu's legal rights.

Dattu's humane approach to the justice system is well known. In a well-known instance, he provided justice to a senior citizen who had filed a complaint against a bank that had rejected her granddaughter's application for a job because the deadline had passed. He disregarded this deadline and requested that the bank treat it as an exceptional circumstance, citing the elderly woman's lack of education and inability to comprehend the rules as well as her general helplessness. In 2007, while serving as the High Court of Chhattisgarh's Chief Justice, he issued a ruling defending the permanent employment status of all temporary contract workers there.

Disputes Connected with Dattu

Before he was appointed chief justice, Dattu was accused of corruption. In his blog posts, Justice Katju addressed the subject and urged for Dattu to be removed from office due to allegations of corruption. Additionally, he is charged with favoritism and delivering biased judgments. He has publicly lauded Narendra Modi, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who is the Indian prime minister. Dattu also generated controversy when he demanded the identification of those who had exposed the 2G spectrum fraud whistleblowers.

FAQs

Q1. Who appointed H L Dattu as the chief justice of India?

Ans. Former President Pranab Mukherjee, appointed him as the chief justice of India.

Q2. How many courts, H L Dattu served before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Ans. Before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Dattu served three High Courts namely, Karnataka High Court, Chhattisgarh High Court, and Kerala High Court.