Justice Rajindar Sachar

Justice Rajindar Sachar (1923–2018) started his law practice in the Punjab High Court, at Shimla. He joined the Delhi High Court as Additional Judge in 1970, but was given a punishment posting in Rajasthan for his open opposition to the Emergency. He came back to the Delhi High Court after Emergency and rose to become its Chief Justice. He delivered several landmark judgements during his time. From before India’s Independence, he was closely associated with prominent socialist leaders Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan. The socialist in him remained alive till his last day. After retirement, he championed the cause of human rights and civil liberties. He appeared and successfully argued several important cases for PUCL, like the mandatory declaration of assets/criminal antecedents of MPs/MLAs, ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option for voters in elections, domicile requirement in Rajya Sabha, and telephone tapping, among others. He also headed a committee which submitted a report on the ‘Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India in 2006’, widely known as ‘The Sachar Committee Report’.