Sarv Mittra Sikri (26 April 1908 – 24 September 1992) was an Indian lawyer and judge who served as the 13th

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

. He previously served as the first Advocate-General for

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, before becoming the first of nine judges 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 ...

, to be directly appointed from the Bar. Additionally, he is the first of only two judges to be CJI, directly from the Bar.

Biography

Sikri was born in Lahore on 26 April 1908. He moved to London to study medicine, but switched to law, studying at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. Before returning to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1930, he served as a barrister-at-law 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 ...

, in London. He began his legal practise in the chambers of Jagannath Agarwal, who was a leading advocate in the

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...

and practiced criminal and civil law. Following

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, he was appointed the Assistant Advocate General of

in 1949 and soon as the advocate general in 1951. Held the same position almost entirely until his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court of India in 1964. As an advocate, he appeared and practised in various courts, ranging from the Lahore High Court and other courts in Punjab to the

Federal Court of India The Federal Court of India was a judicial body, established in India in 1937 under the provisions of the ''Government of India Act 1935'', with original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It functioned until the Supreme Court of India was esta ...

and eventually the Supreme Court of India.

Notable judgements

'' I.C. Golaknath and Ors. v. State of Punjab and Anrs.'' had him a part of the thin majority of 6:5, in which the court reversed its earlier decision which had upheld Parliament's power to amend all parts of the Constitution, including Part III related to Fundamental Rights. The judgement left Parliament with no power to curtail Fundamental Rights.

References

Chief justices of India 1908 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian judges {{India-law-bio-stub