Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal: Former Chief Justice of India

Justice Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal was born on 14th January 1942. He was preceded by Justice R.C. Lahoti and succeeded by Justice K.G. Balakrishnan. He died in New Delhi on 3rd July 2015 (aged 73). He mostly handled instances involving criminal and service-related issues. He is also renowned for his rulings in civil and constitutional law cases.

Career

Justice Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal began his legal career during the following time period:

• From 1969 until 1981, Sabharwal represented Indian Railways in court. From 1973 to 1976–1978, he represented the Delhi government.

• From 1980 until 1986, he also worked as the Central Government's counsel.

• In the Bar Council of India, he represented Delhi from 1969 to 1973.

• On November 17, 1986, he was appointed as a Delhi High Court Additional Judge.

• He served Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on February 3, 1999. Subsequently, his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court of India took place in less than a year.

Notable Judgments

The notable judgments are:

Onkar Lal Bajaj Etc. vs. Union of India (AIR 2002 SC 417)

Justices Y.K. Sabharwal and H.K. Sema, constituting a two-judge bench, held that the public interest had to be taken into consideration before any state action could be taken. In addition, Justice Sabharwal's ruling indicated that the term "public interest" cannot be fully defined and that it might take many various shapes depending on the situation.

Rameshwar Prasad and Others vs. Union of India (AIR 2006 SC 257)

In the instant case, the decision declaring the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly to be unlawful was written by Justice Sabharwal. He said that if a political party can create a majority-ruling government with the backing of another party, the governor cannot object to the creation of such a government on the basis of a personal judgment. The dissolution of the Bihar Parliament is unlawful and unconstitutional since Article 356 does not apply to criminal action by a State Government that retains a majority.

M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India (AIR 2006 SC 467)

The Bench made up of Y.K. Sabharwal, B.N. Srikrishna, and R.V. Raveendran stated that sealing might be a sanction for unauthorized property use in the instant case. According to the court, abuse of property is not considered progress.

P.V. Narasimha Rao vs State (Cbi/Spe) (AIR 1998 SC 120: aka JMM Bribery Case)

Justice Sabharwal took part in other notable instances and resultant the court held that the lawmakers in both the union and state legislatures are considered public employees who are subject to prosecution under the 1988 Prevention of Corruption Act. However, because there was no competent authority to inflict punishment on those public employees, sections 7, 10, 11, and 13 did not apply to them.

Fact	Detail
Name	Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal
Date of Birth	14th January 1942
Alma Mater	Faculty of Law, University of Delhi
Official Tenure	1 November 2005 – 14 January 2007
President	Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Preceded by	R.C. Lahoti
Succeeded by	K.G. Balakrishnan
As Judge	Additional Standing Counsel Standing Counsel Additional Judge in the Delhi High Court Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. Judge of the Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India

Allegations: Justice’s Sons Engaged in Real Estate Operations

The Supreme Court destroyed a significant number of commercial establishments that were operating unlawfully in residential zones during the Delhi sealing drive in 2006. The price of lawful commercial properties, such as those in the new shopping malls, increased considerably as a result of the widespread bulldozing of structures. Two of these companies unexpectedly caught the attention of the biggest players in the shopping mall market when Sabharwal was Chief Justice. Business Park Town Planners (BPTP), a sizable and quickly expanding real estate company owned by Kabul and Anjali Chawla, invested in Pawan Impex. The Chawlas invested in Park Impex in 2006, at the height of the Supreme Court's involvement in the Delhi sealing push, increasing the Share Capital 300 times to Rs. 30 million.

A bank, which also happens to be a tenant of a BPTP building, granted the firm a loan of Rs. 280 million two months later, in August. Investing in Harparwan Construction in October 2005 were the Filatex India founders, Purshottam and Madhu Sudan Bhageria. The Bhagerias subsequently revealed plans for the construction of Delhi's Square One, a shopping center specializing in premium products. After 2005, the Sabharwal brothers' company had a significant expansion. They have started a large real estate initiative in NOIDA in addition to constructing many clothing manufacturing companies.

Moreover, as a judge, Justice Sabharwal has issued several significant judgments dealing with constitutional issues, criminal laws, and other public interest litigation issues. He wrote 175 judgments and participated in 630 benches throughout the course of his seven-year tenure on the Supreme Court.

FAQs

Q1. Who has appointed Justice Sabharwal as the chief justice of India?

Ans. Former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has appointed justice Sabharwal as the chief justice of India.

Q2. How many High Courts did Justice Sabharwal serve before appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court of India?

Ans. Two High Courts; namely Delhi High Court and Bombay High Court.

On November 17, 1986, he was appointed as an Additional Judge in the Delhi High Court and on February 3, 1999, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.