The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of Justice DN Patel as the next Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
A Collegium resolution passed to this effect on May 10 states,
“Mr. Justice D.N. Patel is a senior puisne Judge from Gujarat High Court and at present is functioning, on transfer, in Jharkhand High Court.
Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium is of the considered view that Mr. Justice D.N. Patel is suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly.”
The resolution was passed in view of the impending retirement of current Chief Justice Rajendra Menon in June this year.
Justice DN Patel was born in March 1960. He obtained his LLB degree in 1984 and thereafter his LLM qualification in 1986. Following his enrolment in 1984, he practiced in the Gujarat High Court. His areas of practice included Civil, Criminal and Constitutional, Excise and Customs matters.
Among the prominent roles he has served during his years of legal practice are Special Counsel for Gujarat in other High Courts, panel Advocate for entities such as the Gujarat Public Service Commission, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority, Ahmedabad District Panchayat, Provident Fund Commissioner, BSNL and the AICTE. He also taught as a part-time lecturer at his alma mater, the Sir LA Shah Law College, Ahmedabad for 9 years.
In 1991, he was appointed Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the High Court of Gujarat. In 1999 he served as the in-Charge Government Pleader of the State of Gujarat. The same year, he was appointed Additional Central Government Standing Counsel. In 2001, he was designated Senior Central Government Standing Counsel.
He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in March 2004. In 2006, he was made a permanent judge. He was thereafter transferred to the Jharkhand High Court in February 2009. He has served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court four times between 2013 and 2018.
Read the Resolution: