Altamas Kabir Birth Anniversary: Remembering the legal luminary from West Bengal

Much has been said and written about Altamas Kabir, the former Chief Justice of India. Kabir who was born to a Bengali Muslim family of Faridpur [now in Bangaldesh] held many important posts in his decades long career in the legal field.

His father Jehangir Kabir was a leading Congress politician and trade union leader from West Bengal and his uncle, Humayun Kabir, was a Bengali writer and Union Minister in the cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

An alumnus of the Calcutta Boys' School, Kabir was reportedly told by his teacher as a student that he should pursue law owing to his impressive oratory skills and his argumentative article on social issues and their solutions.

The legal luminary's career though was not without dark spots. Altamas Kabir was accused by Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya of stalling his elevation to the Supreme Court because he opposed his sister. Three years after this 2013 incident, former Chief Minister and Arunachal Pradesh politician Kalikho Pul named him in his suicide note.

The former CJI passed away in February, 2017.

On his birth anniversary, here's a short lookback on his career, landmark judgements.

Altamas Kabir's journey from Kolkata courts to the Supreme Court

Kabir, who holds a Law degree from the University of Calcutta, was admitted to the bar in 1973 and initially practised civil and criminal law in Kolkata's district court and the Calcutta High Court.

Credited with computerizing the courts in Kolkata, Kabir became a permanent judge of the high court in 1990. He, in early 2005, assumed the post of acting Chief Justice of the court.

The same year, Kabir was announced as acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court and the elevation was later made permanent.

On September 9, 2005, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India and in 2012 became the 39th Chief Justice of India and later retired in 2013.

During his tenure, he had been part of many landmark judgements. His judgement striking down National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was his last judgement before he retired.

Altamas Kabir also held the post of chairman of NALSA and reportedly it was under his chairmanship that the NALSA began new project of providing legal provisions to the transgender persons.

While he served as the CJI, he also held the post of Chancellor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, the Chairman of the General Council of the Gujarat National Law University and others. He also taught a course in West Bengal institution on Law and the Child.

Published on: Monday, July 18, 2022, 03:56 PM IST