Hima Kohli (born 2 September 1959) is a judge of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
. She was the chief justice of the
Telangana High Court
The Telangana High Court is the High Court for the Indian state of Telangana. Founded by the 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, initially, it was set up as High Court of Hyderabad for the then Princely State of Hyderabad Deccan and later renamed ...
, and the first woman judge to hold that office. Prior to that, she served as a judge of the
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
.
Life and education
Kohli was born on 2 September 1959 in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
. She did her schooling at
St. Thomas' School. In 1979, she earned a
Bachelor of Arts
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 history from
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...
. She later went on to earn a postgraduate degree in history from the
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 degree in law from the
Campus Law Centre
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related Institution, institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes library, libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining h ...
,
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) ...
.
Career
Kohli enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1984.
She practiced law in Delhi, acting as a counsel for the New Delhi Municipal Council between 1999 and 2004, as well as representing the Government of the
National Capital Territory of Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
. She was also appointed a legal advisor to several Delhi and central government bodies, including the Delhi Pollution Control committee, the
, and the
National Cooperative Development Corporation. She also provided legal aid services with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee.
On 29 May 2006, Kohli was appointed an additional judge on the Delhi High Court, and her appointment was made permanent on 29 August 2007.
During her tenure on the Delhi High Court, she wrote several notable orders and judgments, including calling for inquiries into the detention of prisoners who had already been granted bail, protecting the identity of juveniles accused of crime, and the provision of facilities to enable visually-challenged people to study in government educational institutions.
In 2020, Kohli headed a judicial committee that monitored the Delhi Government's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
. She rebuked the Central Government and the Indian Council for Medical Research for delaying approvals that would allow private laboratories to conduct testing in relation to the pandemic.
In 2021, Kohli was appointed the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, becoming the first woman to occupy that position since it was separated from the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2019.
Kohli has also been involved with legal education and legal aid in India. From 2017, she has served on the general council of the
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS or NUJS) is a premier public law school in India, also known as Columbia of East, and is an elite National Law University located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. In ...
, in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, and from 30 June 2020, she has served on the council for the
National Law University, New Delhi. She became the chairperson of the Delhi State Legal Services Authority from 20 May 2020.
She was elevated as a judge of
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
on 26 August 2021 and took oath on 31 August 2021.
See also
*
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
*
List of sitting judges of High Courts of India
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohli, Hima
1959 births
Living people
21st-century Indian judges
Delhi University alumni
Justices of the Supreme Court of India
People from New Delhi
St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni