Arjan Kumar Sikri : Know Your Judges

ARJAN KUMAR SIKRI

Arjan Kumar Sikri born on 7 March 1954 is a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

He sworn into the post on 12 April 2013. Earlier he had served as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Early life and education

Sikri has an excellent academic record. He stood third in the merit list in Higher Secondary from CBSE, Delhi.

He completed his B. Com(Hons.) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi in 1974.

He completed his LL.B. from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi in 1977 and won a gold medal for attaining first position in LL.B. in Delhi University.

He completed his LLM from Delhi University and stood first in the three-year course.

Career

• As a lawyer

Sikri was enrolled as an advocate in 1977 and he started practicing in Delhi.

He had specialization in Constitutional cases, Labour Service Matters and Arbitration matters.

He was counsel for numerous Public Sector Undertakings, Educational Institutions, Banks & Financial Institutions and various Private Sector Corporations.

He was also a part-time lecturer in Campus Law Centre, Delhi University during 1984-89.

He was vice-President, Delhi High Court Bar Association during 1994-95. He was designated as a Senior Advocate by Delhi High Court in 1997.

• As a judge

Sikri was appointed as Judge of the High Court of Delhi in July, 1999 and has also served as the Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court from 10 October 2011 before being elevated as the chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2012. In 2013 he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India

Other positions

• Member, General Body and Academic Council of National Judicial Academy India.
• Patron-in-Chief, Delhi Judicial Academy.
• Member of the committee on Restatement of Law by the Chief Justice of India.
• Patron-in-Chief and Executive Chairman, Delhi Legal Services Authority.
• Member, Governing Council of the Indian Law Institute.
• Chancellor of the National Law University, Delhi(retired).

Notable Judgements

In 2013, a Punjab and Haryana High Court Bench which included Justice Sikri upheld the appointment of Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini who was charge sheeted in a criminal case by a CBI court in Delhi holding that he was legally competentto hold his present position.

He headed the division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which issued notice to the Ministry of External Affairs of India, taking cognizance of a Public Interest Litigation application seeking release of two prisoners from Punjab languishing in Pakistan jails even after completion of their sentence.

He headed the division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which issued directions to the Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh administrations to curb the menace of crime against women. He had pointed out that Judges should be sensitized on delivering speedy justice in cases related to crime against women, elders, children and discrimination against HIV-infected persons.

He was part of the Supreme Court bench which issued guidelines with regard to carriage by persons with disabilities andor persons with reduced mobility and observed that People with disabilities also have the Right to dignity.

He headed the Supreme Court bench which found Satish Nirankari, a man who survived a suicide attempt with the woman he loved, not guilty, noting that the threat of honour crimes by their families could force lovers to choose suicide as an option.

The Court held that if, in the process, one survived and tried to seek medical help for himself and the deceasedhe cannot be held guilty of murder.

He is a part of the Bench which is hearing the PIL seeking for restrictions on use of firecrackers in Delhi. In 2016, the bench passed an order banning the sale and stocking of all kinds of firecrackers, as well as a halt in the issuing of fresh licenses for the same.

By: Swati Rai