Abhilasha Kumari (born 23 February 1956) is currently Judicial Member of

Lokpal A Lokpal ( sa, लोकपाल ''lokapāla'', "defender of people" or "People's Friend") is an anti-corruption authority or body of ombudsman who represents the public interest in the Republic of India. The current Chairperson of Lokpal is Pra ...

Committee of India since 23 March 2019. She is a former judge who served on the

High Court of Gujarat The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State. The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. The pre ...

from 2006 to 2018, and as the first female Chief Justice on the

Manipur High Court The Manipur High Court is the High Court of the state of Manipur, India. It was established in 25 March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971. The seat of the Hi ...

in 2018. She was a chairperson of the

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

of the

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state of India from 17 May 2018 to 23 March 2019.

Early life

Abhilasha Kumari was born on 23 February 1956 to

Virbhadra Singh Virbhadra Singh () (23 June 19348 July 2021) was an Indian politician who served 6 terms and 21 years as the 4th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. A leader of the Indian National Congress party, he was elected 9 times as a Member of Legislat ...

, the former

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister ...

, and his first wife, Ratan Kumari. She is the eldest of four sisters and a brother. She completed her early education at the

Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, Shimla Tara Hall is an English-medium high school located in Upper Kaithu, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. The school is run by the Loreto Education Society. It is one of the best schools for girls in Shimla. Tradition Loreto Convent, Tara Hall be ...

, after which she completed a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English from the

Indraprastha College Indraprastha College for Women, also known as Indraprastha College or IP College ( hi, इंद्रप्रस्थ महिला महाविद्यालय), is the oldest women's college in Delhi. Established in 1924, it is a con ...

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

and a

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

Faculty of Law, Himachal Pradesh University Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) is an Indian public state university at Summer Hill in the state capital city Shimla. It is close to the vicinity of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. It is wholly financed by the government of Himachal ...

Career

Kumari started her career as an advocate on 26 March 1984 and practised in the

Himachal Pradesh High Court The Himachal Pradesh High Court is the High Court of the state of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh was born as a result of integration of twenty six Province and four Punjab hill States into a Centrally Administered Area on 15 Ap ...

and the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. She was the Additional Central Government Standing Counsel from 1995 to 2002 and as the additional advocate general of Himachal Pradesh in March 2003 to December 2005. She worked as the Legal Advisor-cum-Standing Counsel for Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Himachal Pradesh University, Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation and

Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) is a (state government undertaking) electricity board operating within the state of Himachal Pradesh, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in Sou ...

. She also served as the Standing Counsel for Municipal Council, Dalhousie; Standing Counsel for Simla Municipal Corporation;

Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education is agency Government of Himachal Pradesh entrusted with the responsibilities of prescribing courses of instructions and text books and conducting examinations for secondary school students in Himacha ...

and Himachal Pradesh Technical Education Board. She served as judge on the

Gujarat High Court The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State. The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. The prese ...

from 9 January 2006 to 7 February 2018. She then became the first female Chief Justice of

for only thirteen days from 9 to 22 February 2018, when she retired. She has been a Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of

state of India since 17 May 2018. She was appointed Judicial member of

Committee on 23 March 2019 along with 3 other Judicial members.

Personal life

Abhilasha Kumari married Prithvindrasinh Gohil of Dared, a member of the royal family of erstwhile

Vala State Vala State or Vallabhipura was a non-salute princely state in India during the British Raj until 1948. The centre was the city of Vallabhi. The last ruler of the state signed the state's accession to the Indian Union on 15 February 1948. Hi ...

, on 7 November 1979 in Simla. They have a son, Raghavendra Singh Gohil (born 11 July 1981). He is married to Shruti Gohil of Khapradi in Uttar Pradesh (born 14th March 1981). They have one daughter Jayanandini Raghvendra Gohil (born 18th March 2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumari, Abhilasha 1956 births Living people 21st-century Indian women judges 21st-century Indian judges 20th-century Indian women lawyers 20th-century Indian lawyers Judges of the Gujarat High Court Judges of the Manipur High Court Chief Justices of Manipur High Court Indraprastha College for Women alumni Himachal Pradesh University alumni People from Himachal Pradesh