Hima Kohli

Some Lesser Known Facts About Hima Kohli

• Hima Kohli is an Indian lawyer who was appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court of India on 26 August 2021. She is also known for being the first woman to become Chief Justice of Telangana High Court.

• In her farewell speech at Delhi High Court, she revealed that her parents hailed from pre-partition India. ^[4]FAREWELL SPEECH OF HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI Her father hailed from Jalandhar (Punjab) and belonged to a business class family. During their teenagehood, Hima’s parents experienced the trauma of partition after which they left their hearth and home and migrated to Delhi to restart their lives from scratch. Following the footsteps of his ancestors, Hima’s father established his business in Delhi in the early fifties that prospered over time.

• Hima’s mother was born in Gujranwala, British India, (now in Pakistan) into a highly educated family to postgraduates father and grandfather who worked as professors at Panjab University, specializing in History. Alumni of Indraprastha College for Women, Hima’s mother decided to be a homemaker after her marriage, tending to the needs of her two daughters.

• While describing her childhood in her farewell speech at Delhi High Court, she said,
  

  Under my mother’s strict supervision, the whole week was dedicated to school and homework. But Sunday was a fun-filled family day, starting with breakfast and ending with dinner. Our parents took us out for a SouthIndian breakfast, followed by a visit to the home of a family friend with a movie thrown in the afternoon. The day ended with high tea at a restaurant. So Sunday used to be the high point of our lives.”

• While talking about her sister, Neelu, in the same speech, Hima said that her parents were very protective of Neelu. But, when Hima was born, her parents felt the need to train their children to be independent. In the speech, while remembering her school days, she said,
  

  A simple example of this was that while my sister would be dropped and picked up by car through her school days and on several occasions even in college, for me, the car was withdrawn in High School and I was told to travel in the school bus, which I treated as a hardship!”

• While studying at school, Hima earned the privilege of being elected as the head girl in the final year.

• Continuing to be protective of Neelu, her parents admitted her to an all-girls college, Miranda House, Delhi. On the contrary, her parents were open to enrol Hima into a co-ed college, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Following the footsteps of her maternal grandparents, Hima did her graduation in History (Hons.).

• On completion of her post-graduation in history, Hima’s father was of the view that pursuing a job as a professor was an ideal choice of career for her. Soon after realizing that Hima’s batchmates were preparing for the Civil Services Examination, he felt that Hima too must attempt the examination. Thereafter, Hima secured admission in L.L.B, primarily with the motive that a library card would be beneficial for the preparation of the Civil Services Examination. On the other hand, Hima’s mother, a habitual reader of detective novels and courtroom dramas, perceived Law as a promising career.

• Hima Kohli enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Dehli in 1984.

• From 1999 to 2004, she acted as the standing counsel and legal advisor of the New Delhi Municipal Council in the High Court of Delhi.

• When she was an independent practising lawyer, her father died, leaving behind a running business, which was taken over by Neelu for the process of the windup.

• She had set up a mini office in the boot of her car, where she kept her files, documents, etc., and worked from Mr. S.P. Guptachamber’s chamber, an advocate who permitted Hima to use his chambers when Hima’s senior advocate was elevated as a judge.

• In December 2004, she was appointed as the additional standing counsel (Civil), representing the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi in the Delhi High Court. She represented the Government of Delhi in several important public interest litigations, meanwhile, developing her reputation as a private practising lawyer.

• Additionally, she served as the legal advisor to the Public Grievances Commission, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India, National Co-operative Development Corporation, and other private organizations, banks, etc.

• As a former member of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, a statutory body constituted under the Legal Services Authority Act, she provided legal aid to the committee.

• From 29 May 2006 to 6 January 2021, she served as a senior judge of the Delhi High Court. After being appointed as an additional judge in the Delhi High Court on 29 May 2006. Kohli was designated as a permanent judge on 29 August 2007.

• On 11 August 2017, she was appointed as a member of the General Council of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.

• In December 2017, a bench consisting of Justice Hima Kohli made the observations in a case in which a constable was fired from service in the Reserved Police Force (RPF) by the Railway Board, citing that he had not disclosed the pendency of a criminal case lodged against him when he was 12 years old. The court overruled the order of the Railway Board, stating it was unsustainable and directed the authorities to reappoint him within 12 weeks along with all the consequential benefits, excluding back wages. Thereafter, the Delhi High Court held that a juvenile’s identity should not be disclosed at any stage of life as it defeats the purpose of juvenile justice law.

• On 7 May 2019, she was nominated as a member of the editorial committee of ‘Nyaya Deep’, the official journal published by the National Legal Services Authority.

• On 11 March 2020, she was appointed as the chairperson of the Committee of the Delhi Judicial Academy.

• In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, on 23 March 2020, the Supreme Court of India passed the order for the decongestion of jails in all States/UTs. The Govt. of NCT of Delhi established High Powered Committee, headed by Hima Kohli as its chairperson on 26 March 2020.

• On 20 May 2020, she was appointed as the Executive Chairperson of the Delhi State Legal Services Authority.

• On 29 June 2020, she was appointed as the Chairperson of the Delhi High Court Middle Income Group Legal Aid Society.

• On 30 June 2020, she was appointed as a member of the Governing Council of the National Law University.

• During her tenure on the Delhi High Court, a division bench consisting of Justice Hima Kohli called for inquiries for illegally detaining a man in Tihar Jail for 10 days, despite a bail order in his favour. Tihar Jail authorities extend an unconditional apology before the Delhi High Court for the illegal detention. Furthermore, 14 law officers were hired on a contractual basis to provide legal aid to the jail authorities.

• In August 2020, a bench consisting of Justice Hima Kohli directed Delhi University to provide scribes to visually handicapped students at common service centres (CSCs) for online Open Book Examinations (OBE) for final year undergraduate courses.

• From 7 January 2021 to 30 August 2021, she served as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court; she is the first woman judge to hold that position.

  

• Apart from her illustrious career as an advocate and judge, she is the chairperson of the Delhi High Court Building & Maintenance Committee, Mediation & Conciliation Committee, and the Family Courts Committee. She is also a member of the Administrative and General Supervision Committee of the High Court.

• Apart from performing her official duties, she actively promotes mediation and highlights the role of the judiciary in the preservation of the ecology and the role of Family Courts in resolving family disputes.

• On 26 August 2021, she was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. On 31 August 2021, it was the first time in Indian Supreme Court’s history that nine judges took oath in one day. The names of those judges were Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari, Justice B V Nagarathna, Justice C T Ravikumar, Justice M M Sundresh, Justice Bela M Trivedi, and Justice P S Narasimha. With three women judges swearing-in, the Supreme Court of India secured four sitting women judges, beating the previous high of three sitting women judges.