Justice Hima Kohli fierce protector of rights of women: CJI Chandrachud

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud hailed Justice Hima Kohli on Friday, saying she is not just a woman judge but also a fierce protector of the rights of women.

The CJI was holding a ceremonial bench for Justice Kohli, who is due to retire on September 1.

Justice Kohli was the ninth in seniority among the apex court judges. With her retirement, the top court will be left with only two women judges -- Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Bela M Trivedi.

"It has been a pleasure to sit with Justice Kohli. We have exchanged very serious ideas and thoughts. There have been times when she supported me. Hima, you are not just a woman judge but also a fierce protector of the rights of women," the CJI said.

Attorney General R Venkataramani said Justice Kohli dedicated her entire life to the cause of justice.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "We have always seen a very tough exterior on the bench but we have also seen a very soft, humane and compassionate side of Justice Kohli." "She will always be remembered through her judgments and my lordships has delivered justice through compassion wherever required," he added.

Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said Justice Kohli's stint as an apex court judge was too short.

He added that Justice Kohli has a stern look but an empathetic heart.

"I always tell my colleagues when we go to court, know who your judge is. When we go to your court, you are looking with your glasses down on the nose, we know we are in trouble. You have been a pleasant judge. Nobody can finesse you, nobody can bowl a googly to you," Sibal said.

Born on September 2, 1959, in Delhi, Justice Kohli went to the St. Thomas School, New Delhi, and graduated with Honours in History from St. Stephen's College.

She completed her post-graduation in History and thereafter, joined the LLB course at the Law Faculty, Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, and completed it in 1984.

She was the standing counsel and legal adviser of the New Delhi Municipal Council in the Delhi High Court from 1999 to 2004.

Justice Kohli got enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in the same year and was appointed the additional standing counsel civil, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in the Delhi High Court in December 2004.

She was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on May 29, 2006, and took oath as a permanent judge on August 29, 2007.

Justice Kohli was appointed as a member of the General Council of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, on August 11, 2017.

She was appointed as the chairperson of a high-powered committee constituted by the Delhi government on March 26, 2020, in terms of the order dated March 23, 2020, passed by the Supreme Court for decongestion of jails in all states and Union territories in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Justice Kohli was sworn in as the chief justice of Telangana High Court on January 7, 2021.

She was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021.