Ranjit Singh Sarkaria (16 January 1916 – 12 October 2007) was an Indian Supreme Court justice from 17 September 1973 until 15 January 1981.

Early life

Sarkaria was born on 16 January 1916. He attended

Mohindra College Established in 1875, Government Mohindra College Patiala, Punjab, India is the oldest institution of contemporary higher learning in Northern India. Mohindra College was the first institution in Punjab to receive A++ grade from the National ...

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...

and later obtained an

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

Government College Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

, in what is now

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Career

Upon obtaining a law degree

Shri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javane ...

Sarkaria worked in

as a

pleader A special pleader was a historical legal occupation. The practitioner, or "special pleader" in English law specialised in drafting "pleadings", in modern terminology statements of case. History Up to the 19th century, there were many rules, tech ...

. He later took a position as an advocate of the Patiala High Court in 1940. Sarkaria was one of two people on a committee created by the state government of the former

Patiala and East Punjab States Union Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructe ...

(Pepsu) whose role was to translate the new

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

into the

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 ...

. Sarkaria served as a judge on the

Punjab and Haryana High Court Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 ...

from 13 June 1967 until 26 September 1967. He also served as a

puisne Puisne (; from Old French ''puisné'', modern ''puîné'', "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin ''post-'', "after", and ''natus'', "born") is a legal term of art obsolete in many jurisdictions and, when current, used main ...

judge from 27 September 1967 to 15 September 1973. Sarkaria was appointed to the Supreme Court of India on 17 September 1973. He served on the court until his retirement on 15 January 1981. Following his retirement, Sarkaria was commissioned in 1983 by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to study the relationships between the central and state governments of India. The committee became known as the

Sarkaria Commission The ''Sarkaria Commission'' was set up in 1983 by the central government of India against M. Karunanidhi. The Sarkaria Commission's charter was to examine the central-state relationship on various portfolios and suggest changes within the framewor ...

, since it was headed by RS Sarkaria. The

submitted its findings in 1988. Additionally, Sarkaria served as the former chairman of the

Press Council of India The Press Council of India is a statutory, adjudicating organisation in India formed in 1966 by its parliament. It is the self-regulatory watchdog of the press, for the press and by the press, that operates under the Press Council Act of 1978., ...

Death

He died of a prolonged illness on Friday, 12 October 2007, in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

, India at the age of 91.

References

Justices of the Supreme Court of India 20th-century Indian judges 1916 births 2007 deaths Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Recipients of the Padma Shri in civil service People from Patiala {{India-law-bio-stub