Abhilasha Kumari (born 23 February 1956) served as Judicial Member of Lokpal of India since 23 March 2019 to 26 March 2024.[1] She is a former judge who served on the High Court of Gujarat from 2006 to 2018, and as the first female Chief Justice on the Manipur High Court in 2018. She was a chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of the Gujarat state of India from 17 May 2018 to 23 March 2019.

Abhilasha Kumari
Judicial Member of Lokpal
In office
23 March 2019 – 26 March 2024
Appointed byRam Nath Kovind
Preceded byPosition Established
Chief Justice of Manipur High Court
In office
9 February 2018 – 22 February 2018
Appointed byRam Nath Kovind
Judge of Gujarat High Court
In office
9 January 2006 – 8 February 2018
Appointed byA.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court
In office
2 December 2005 – 8 January 2006
Appointed byA.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Personal details
Born (1956-02-23) 23 February 1956 (age 68)
Spouse
Prithvindrasinh Gohil
(m. 1979)
Parent
Alma mater

Early life

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Abhilasha Kumari was born on 23 February 1956[2] to Virbhadra Singh, the former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, and his first wife, Ratan Kumari.[3][4][5] She is the eldest of four sisters and a brother.[5] She completed her early education at the Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, Shimla,[2][5] after which she completed a B.A. in English from the Indraprastha College, University of Delhi and a LL.B. from the Faculty of Law, Himachal Pradesh University.[2][4]

Career

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Kumari started her career as an advocate on 26 March 1984[2] and practised in the Himachal Pradesh High Court and the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal.[3] 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.[2][3]

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. She also served as the Standing Counsel for Municipal Council, Dalhousie; Standing Counsel for Simla Municipal Corporation; Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education and Himachal Pradesh Technical Education Board.[2]

She served as judge on the Gujarat High Court from 9 January 2006 to 7 February 2018.[4][6] She then became the first female Chief Justice of Manipur High Court for only thirteen days from 9 to 22 February 2018, when she retired.[3][4][7][8] She has been a Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Gujarat state of India since 17 May 2018.[9]

She was appointed Judicial member of Lokpal of India on 23 March 2019 along with 3 other Judicial members and served until 26 March 2024.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lokpal: Meet the men and women who will probe corruption". qrius.com. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "High Court of Gujarat". gujarathighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Samom, Shobhapati (9 February 2018). "Justice Abhilasha Kumari is Manipur HC's first woman chief justice". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Justice Abhilasha Kumari promoted". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "वीरभद्र सिंह की बेटी अभिलाषा ने संभाला चीफ जस्टिस का कार्यभार". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  6. ^ "वीरभद्र की बेटी जस्टिस अभिलाषा कुमारी बनेंगी HC की चीफ जस्टिस". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Justice Abhilasha Kumari takes oath as Manipur Chief Justice for 13 days, father Virbhadra Singh attends function". The Hush Post. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Former HC judge is GSHRC chief". Ahmedabad Mirror. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Abhilasha Kumari takes charge of office of Chairperson of Gujarat Human Right Commission for five-year term". DeshGujarat. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.