Retd SC Judge Made AP Guv: Triple Talaq, Ayodhya to Demonetisation Verdict, All About Justice Nazeer

Days after retiring from the post of Supreme Court judge, Justice S Abdul Nazeer has been appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

Justice Nazeer retired from the Supreme Court last month after serving a six-year term. During his tenure, Justice Nazeer sat on 458 benches and authored 93 judgments. Justice Nazeer has been part of important benches, including Triple Talaq, Ayodhya Title Suit and the pleas challenging demonetisation policy of the Central government.

He is the third judge from the five-judge bench, which gave the Ayodhya ruling, to receive a post-retirement appointment from the government. The other two are — Former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Ashok Bhushan.

Justice Nazeer was born on January 5, 1958 and studied law at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Law College, Mangalore. In 2003, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court and a year later, made a permanent judge.

Justice Nazeer was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2017 and is the third judge to be elevated directly to the Apex Court without serving as a Chief Justice at any High Court.

HIS NOTABLE JUDGMENTS

• Ayodhya Title Suit: Justice Nazeer was part of the three-judge bench hearing an appeal to the Ayodhya title dispute. He dissented from the majority and stated that a Constitution Bench must review the court’s earlier decision that a mosque is not an essential feature of Islam. Later, he was also on the constitutional bench that delivered verdict on Ayodhya temple issue.
• Challenge to Demonetisation Policy: Justice Nazeer led the five-Judge Constitution Bench that upheld the Union government’s 2016 demonetisation scheme by a 4:1 majority. He was part of the majority opinion which held that the demonetisation scheme was implemented in a reasonable manner. The dissent in this judgment was authored by Justice B V Nagrathna.
• Triple Talaq: Justice Nazeer was the only Muslim judge on the Constitution Bench deciding the constitutional validity of Triple Talaq in Shayara Bano v Union of India (2017). Justice Nazeer along with the then Chief Justice J S Khehar dissented to uphold the constitutionality of Triple Talaq. In their dissenting opinion, they concluded that Parliament held the authority to strike it down.
• Right to Privacy: Justice Nazeer was a member of the nine-judge Supreme Court bench that unanimously declared privacy as a fundamental right in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy v Union of India.

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