Justice Markandey Katju
Justice Markandey
Katju was born on 20.9.1946 in Lucknow. He spent most of his life in
Allahabad (now Prayagraj), UP, where he received his education, securing a
First Division in every examination he appeared in, from Senior Cambridge
onwards, and topping the merit list in LL.B. at Allahabad University in 1967.
Thereafter, he practised as a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court till 1991,
when he was elevated as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court, becoming its
Acting Chief Justice in August 2004. Не was appointed as Chief Justice of
Madras High Court in November 2004 and Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in
October 2005. In April 2006, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of
India, from where he retired in September 2011. He was then appointed Chairman
of the Press Council of India in 2011, where he served for 3 years.
Justice Katju comes from a legal family. His grandfather,
Dr Kailas Nath Katju, was an eminent lawyer of the Allahabad High Court, who
was also a freedom fighter. Dr Katju was Union Home, Law and Defence Minister
in Prime Minister Nehru''s cabinet, and had earlier been Governor of Odisha and
West Bengal. Later, he was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Justice
Katju''s father, Justice SN Katju, was a Judge of the Allahabad High Court, and
his uncle, Justice BN Katju, was a Chief Justice of that High Court.
Justice Katju has a scholarly inclination, having deeply
studied not only law, but also history, politics, economics, philosophy,
literature, etc. He has a passion for Sanskrit and Urdu (see his articles
''Sanskrit as a language of Science'' and ''What is Urdu'' online ). He has written
several books, e.g. ''Law in the Scientific Era'', ''Shape of Things to Come'',
''Mimansa Principles of Interpretation'', ''Justice with Urdu'', etc. He is the
patron of lbaadatkhana, a global organisation for promoting inter-faith harmony,
and the Indian Reunification Association, an organisation advocating peaceful
reunification of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh under a secular government.
