S. Abdul Nazeer (born 5 January 1958) is a former 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 ...

, who is currently serving as the 24th

Governor of Andhra Pradesh This is a list of governors of Andhra, including Andhra State and United Andhra Pradesh, in office from 1953 to the present date. The official residence of the governor is the Raj Bhavan, situated in Vijayawada. E. S. L. Narasimhan is the lon ...

. He is also former judge of

Karnataka High Court Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He was appointed as the

on 12 February 2023.

Early life

Abdul Nazeer was born into a Muslim family belonging to the

Kanara Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

region of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, that is coastal Karnataka. He is the son of Fakir Saheb and he has five siblings. He grew up in Beluvai/

Moodbidri Moodabidri ( kn, ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆ ''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidre and Bedra), is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karnat ...

and completed his B.Com degree at Mahaveera College, Moodbidri. He later obtained a law degree from SDM Law College,

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

. (formerly known as " Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Law College").

Career

Judicial career (1983–January 2023)

After taking his law degree, Nazeer enrolled as an Advocate on 1983 and practiced at the

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. In May 2003, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court. He was later appointed a permanent judge of the same High Court. In February 2017, while serving as a judge of the Karnataka High Court, Nazeer was elevated to the

. He became only the third judge ever to be elevated in this way, without first becoming the chief justice of some high court. In the Supreme Court, Nazeer was the lone Muslim judge in a multi-faith bench which heard the controversial Triple Talaq case in 2017. Though Nazeer and one other judge upheld the validity of the practise of Triple Talaq (Talaq-e-Biddat) based on that fact that it is permissible under Muslim

Sharia Law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...

, it was barred by the bench by 3:2 majority and asked the Central government to bring legislation in six months to govern marriage and divorce in the Muslim community. The court said till the government formulates a law regarding triple talaq, there would be an injunction on husbands pronouncing triple talaq on their wives. He was also the part of 5 judges bench of Historic

2019 Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya dispute The final judgement in the Ayodhya dispute was declared by the Supreme Court of India on 9 November 2019. The Supreme Court ordered the disputed land (2.77 acres) to be handed over to a trust (to be created by the government of India) to build ...

. In which he upheld the report of ASI, which stated about the existence of a Hindu Structure in the disputed region. He gave the verdict in favour of Ram Mandir and thus finally ending the years long dispute with 5-0 verdict. In the months leading up to his retirement, Nazeer led a constitution bench which heard cases pertaining to the

2016 Indian banknote demonetisation On 8 November 2016, the Government of India announced the demonetisation of all ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series. It also announced the issuance of new ₹500 and ₹2,000 banknotes in exchange for the demonetised ...

carried out by the Government of India. He retired on 4 January 2023.

Governor of Andhra Pradesh (February 2023–present)

On 12 February 2023, the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

appointed Nazeer as the 24th Governor of Andhra Pradesh, succeeding Biswabhushan Harichandan. This appointment received opposition from parties, stating that the retired judge was being rewarded by the government, due to his favoured judgement related to the Ayodhya Ram Mandir verdict.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazeer, S. Abdul 1958 births Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of India 21st-century Indian judges Judges of the Karnataka High Court People from Dakshina Kannada district 21st-century Indian Muslims Governors of Andhra Pradesh