Sujata Vasant Manohar (born 28 August 1934) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former member of the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

of India.

Early life and education

Manohar was born into a family with a strong legal background - her father Kantilal Thakoredas Desai would later become the second chief justice of the High Court of Gujarat. She graduated from Elphinstone College,

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, and then went to Lady Margaret Hall,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

where she read

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

Career

After Oxford, she was called to the Bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

having simultaneously passed all papers in Parts 1 & 2 of the Bar Exam. She returned to India where she began practice in 1958 on the original side of the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...

. She dealt primarily with commercial matters, but also took many family law cases under legal aid schemes. This was before India had a formal state legal aid programme, so she voluntarily associated herself with over 30 non-governmental organisations. After around 20 years of practice, which included a substantial amount of public interest and pro-bono work, she was appointed a judge of the High Court of Bombay in 1978, the first woman judge of that court. In January, 1994, she was appointed chief justice of the High Court of Bombay, the first woman to hold that post. In April, 1994, she was transferred as the chief justice of the

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the List of high courts in India, highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Hig ...

, again the first woman to hold that post. At the end of 1994 (November), after 16 years as a High Court judge, she was appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

and later retired in 1999. As a judge, she took a strongly independent stance, defending the rule of law against political and public pressures. In one case, she was called upon to decide on the constitutionality of one aspect of India's affirmative action programme. The government of the day proposed to require Universities to implement a system of quotas for admission to research degrees. This meant that available places would be parcelled out to students based on their caste and religion, not just on their merit. Justice Manohar ruled this unconstitutional, despite a strong backlash from certain interest groups, who, in a show of public umbrage, burnt her effigy. After her retirement, she was appointed to the

. She is an honorary fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and an honorary bencher of Lincoln's Inn, London. She is also a patron of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manohar, Sujata 1934 births Living people Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Indian barristers 20th-century Indian judges 20th-century Indian women judges Justices of the Supreme Court of India Judges of the Bombay High Court Chief justices of the Bombay High Court Chief justices of the Kerala High Court Scholars from Mumbai Women educators from Tamil Nadu Educators from Tamil Nadu