Gopal Ballav Pattanaik
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Justice Gopal Ballav Pattanaik (born 19 December 1937) is an Indian lawyer and later a jurist who served over a period of 19 years in the bench of the Odisha High Court as a permanent Judge, as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, Judge of the Supreme Court of India and as the 32nd
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
. Pattanaik grew up in Cuttack, Odisha, where he later studied at the
Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...
and then graduated in science from Ewing Christian College,
Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...
. He then went on to earn his degree in Law from
Madhusudan Law College Madhusudan Law University formerly Madhusudan Law College is the oldest Law Institute (now a university) of the State of Odisha. The college is situated at Municipal Colony in Cuttack in the Indian state of Odisha. It offers 3 years LL.B.(Hons ...
at Cuttack affiliated to the
Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...
in Odisha. In 2002, Pattanaik was appointed Chief Justice of India by the President Shri A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.


Early life and education

He was born on 19 December 1937 in the city of
Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
, now in
Odisha, India Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
. He studied at the
Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...
in Cuttack and graduated in Science from the Ewing Christian College, Allahabad University and earned his degree in Law from
Madhusudan Law College Madhusudan Law University formerly Madhusudan Law College is the oldest Law Institute (now a university) of the State of Odisha. The college is situated at Municipal Colony in Cuttack in the Indian state of Odisha. It offers 3 years LL.B.(Hons ...
,
Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...
in
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
.


Career

In 1962, he enrolled as an advocate in the
Orissa High Court The Orissa High Court is the High Courts of India, High Court for the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Odisha. The then Bengal Presidency was a vast province including present day Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West ...
, where he practiced in civil, criminal, constitutional and corporate cases. He also appeared before 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 ...
. As a first generation of lawyer, his legal career started in the chambers of late lawyer Bimal Pal, Barrister Birendra Mohan Patnaik and Justice Souri Prasad Mahapatra were instrumental in encouraging him to take up the legal profession. In 1971, he was appointed the Standing Counsel for the state
Government of Orissa The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoi ...
. In 1974 he became an Additional Government Advocate and subsequently the Govt. Advocate of the state. In 1983, he was elevated to the bench of the
Orissa High Court The Orissa High Court is the High Courts of India, High Court for the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Odisha. The then Bengal Presidency was a vast province including present day Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West ...
as a permanent judge. In 1995, he was appointed the Chief Justice of
Patna High Court The Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar. It was established on 9 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915. The court is based in Patna, the administrative capital of the state of Bihar, ...
. After a short stint in the Patna High Court, he was elevated as 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 ...
. He went on to occupy the highest judicial post in the country as the 32nd Chief Justice of India on 8 November 2002.http://www.thehindu.com/2002/11/09/stories/2002110906130100.htm When Patnaik took over as the
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
, it appeared that he would not be able to achieve much in the administration of the judiciary, in view of his short tenure. However, he began a momentous chapter in the history of Indian judiciary by putting into practice the 'in-house procedure' evolved in 1997 to deal with allegations of misconduct against members of the higher judiciary. Some of the far reaching and well published judgements of Patnaik include:- *the Narmada Dam Project. *Denying the central government of India the ability to grant permission to Hindu organisations to perform ceremonies at the disputed
Babri masjid Babri Masjid (IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communi ...
site in
Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
. *
Contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
case against
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
winner
Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...
. *Acquittal of several persons belonging to the minority community in cases relating to the
Bombay riots In the Bombay riots in December 1992 and January 1993, an estimated 900 people died. The riots were mainly due to escalations of hostilities after large scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsev ...
. *The constitutional reference on the minority educational institutions. *In a landmark judgement in the ''Daniel Latifi v. Union of India, 2001'' (7) SCC 740, heading the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in this case, Patnaik held that liability of Muslim husband to his divorced wife arising under Section 3(1) (a) of the Act to pay maintenance is not confined to iddat period. This judgement was a landmark one uplifting the rights of Muslim women in India to maintenance from their divorced husband. Pattanaik was a member of the Indo British and Indo-U.S. judicial exchange programme. He visited UK and the United States and participated in joint workshops and seminars with the judges of the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
in Britain and the U.S.
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, respectively. His contemporaries in the US Supreme Court with whom he participated in the joint workshop were Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (the first woman judge of the US Supreme Court). Pattnaik is a former Chairperson of the National Judicial Academy of India, Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) and Former President of the Association of Retired Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts of India. For several years he was the Chairman of the selection committee for the prestigious literary award of Indian literature, the “Saraswati Samman”.


Awards and honours

He was conferred with an honorary doctorate in law LLD by the
Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...
. In 2021 Pattanaik was the recipient of the prestigious Utkal Ratna award for his lifetime achievement in the field of Law and Justice.


References


External links

* https://main.sci.gov.in/former-chief-justices
https://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2002/11/09/




supremecourtofindia.nic.in
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvjxNlmccvk&ab_channel=WildFilmsIndia Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Supreme Court of India


orissa.gov.in
*https://www.ommcomnews.com/odisha-news/world-human-rights-day-naveen-reiterates-inclusion-of-non-violence-in-preamble- * http://orissadiary.com/Shownews.asp?id=18357

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattanaik, G. B. 1937 births Living people People from Cuttack University of Allahabad alumni Utkal University alumni Chief justices of India Judges of the Orissa High Court Chief Justices of the Patna High Court 20th-century Indian judges 20th-century Indian lawyers 21st-century Indian lawyers 21st-century Indian judges