india

Updated: Mar 17, 2019 23:56 IST

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, a former Supreme Court judge, is all set to become the first Lokpal of India, an anti-corruption ombudsman.

According to officials with knowledge of the matter, a selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on his name.

Justice Ghose, who is a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), was a judge in the top court for four years from March 2013 to May 2017.

During this period, he adjudicated on wide variety of cases.

A division bench of Justice Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy convicted former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalaitha’s aide, Sasikala, and others in a graft case in a significant verdict. In this case, Jayalalitha too was an accused, but proceedings against her were dropped because she died during the pendency of the case.

Justice Ghose was also a part of the two-judge bench that declared the centuries-old tradition of Jallikattu, or bull fighting, will be banned.

Another important matter handled by Justice Ghose as a Supreme Court judge was the Babri Masjid case, in which the top court directed a trial court in April 2017 to proceed against political leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and others for alleged criminal conspiracy.

After his retirement in 2017, Justice Ghose was appointed to the National Human Rights Commission as a judicial

member. Born on May 28, 1952, Justice Ghose comes from a family of lawyers. His father, late Justice Shambhu Chandra Ghose, is a former Chief Justice of Calcutta high court.

Justice Ghose, who graduated in law from the Calcutta University, joined the Bar Council of West Bengal in 1976 as an advocate. He became a judge at the Calcutta high court in July 1997.

In December 2012, he was made the chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court. After three months, in March 2013, he was elevated to the Supreme Court.Former advocate general of Tripura and eminent lawyer Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said the most noticeable part of Justice Ghose’s character is his calmness and friendly approach.

“He used to hear cases and pass orders very fast. As a judge, he astounded us with his sharp memory. In simple words, he was an outstanding judge,” said Bhattacharya.