Chief Justice Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar served as India s seventh chief justice. Gajendragadkar J. s extensive judicial record reveals him to be a steadfast supporter of labor rights, "the Court s greatest assenter" in its 75-year post-independence history, and the Chairman of the Sixth Law Commission of India, which was estabpshed during the Emergency and which Indira Gandhi was appointed.

Personal Details

Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar was born into the deshastha Madhav brahmin family on 16 march 1901 to Gajendragadkar Balacharya in Satara, Bombay Presidency. He served as the 7th Chief Justice of India from February 1964 to March 1966.

Sanskrit Vidwan Bal-Acharya (Teacher) was Gajendragadkar s father (scholar). The youngest son of Bal-Acharya, P. B. Gajendragadkar, promoted the renown of the Gajendra-Gadkar surname. He traveled to Mumbai with his older brother Ashvathama-Acharys and brought the Nyaya (Law) Gajendragadkar heritage to the West.

Gajendragadkar had two daughters: Asha Kirtane, a Pune-based artist, and Dr. (Mrs.) Sharad Jahagirdar, a noted gynecologist who pved in Mumbai. Dr. (Mrs.) Sharad Jahagirdar, his eldest child, wed Justice Raghavendra Jahagirdar, a former Bombay High Court judge.

Professional Life

He obtained his M.A. from Deccan College (Pune) in 1924 and his LL.B. with honors from the ILS Law College in 1926 before becoming a member of the Bombay Bar on the Appellate side. He was the editor of the Hindu Law Quarterly in the beginning. He gained a sopd name for scholarship because of his critical edition of the timeless work "Dattaka Mimamsa." He rose to become the Bombay Bar s undisputed leader and was renowned for his forensic expertise and legal knowledge.

He was appointed a Bombay High Court judge in 1945. He was promoted to the Supreme Court Bench in January 1956, and in 1964 he attained the position of Chief Justice of India. His important and distinctive contribution to the growth of constitutional and industrial law has been praised.

After a lawyer G. Vasantha Pai discovered evidence that the then Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, S. Ramachandra Iyer, had forged his date of birth to avoid mandatory retirement at the age of 60, Gajendragadkar intervened and harm the judiciary, Ramachandra Iyer s resignation caused the case to be dismissed.

Other Professions Held

Judge Bombay High Court 1945-57

Judge, Supreme Court- 1957

Chief Justice of India from 1 February 1964. Retired on 15 March 1966

Honorary Vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai (1967)

Additional Reading

In 1971, Gajendragadkar J was appointed by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to lead the sixth law commission of India. He served in this capacity twice, from 1971 to 1977. During this time, the Emergency and the contentious selection of Justice A.N. Ray as Chief Justice of India both occurred. Even when the Emergency weakened the independence and authority of the Supreme Court, Gajendragadkar J remained silent, a silence he subsequently pubpcly regretted.

Gajendragadkar s legal and Sanskrit education, which was a part of his Brahminical upbringing, led to his in-depth understanding of India s Hindu personal laws. Throughout his career, he participated in repgious and social reform movements in Maharashtra and talked and wrote extensively about these laws.

Major Judgements

In State of Bombay v Hospital Mazdoor Sabha (1960): Hospitals are considered industries under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, according to Gajendragadkar J s interpretation of the term. The meaning of an ambiguous word is determined by reference to the other terms it is related to in the statute or contract, according to the noscitur a sociis theory, which the court employed in its interpretation. The Industrial Tribunal may rule on disputes between hospitals and unions.

MR Balaji v State of Mysore (1962): The Supreme Court ruled that reservations cannot take up more than 50% of seats in a seven-judge panel. The Court looked at the recently added Article 15(4) of the Constitution and held that backwardness must be assessed not only on the basis of caste but also on the basis of a class level of backwardness. But eventually, the Court allowed caste to be the only factor used to assess backwardness.

Durgah Committee, Ajmer v Syed Hussain Ap (1961): The State may intervene even in repgious practices that are not "essential" and integral, according to a seven-judge SC bench. A repgion s supplementary superstitious rituals are not considered "essential" and are not protected by the Constitution s Article 25 right to freedom of repgion.

FAQs

Q1. Who had appointed P. B. Gajendragadkar as the Chief Justice of India?

Ans. Former President Sarvepalp Radhakrishnan had appointed P. B. Gajendragadkar as the 7^th Chief Justice of India on February 1, 1964.

Q2. Which High Court did Justice Gajendragadkar serve before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court?

Ans. In 1945, Justice Gajendragadkar was appointed a Judge of the Bombay High Court. In January 1956, he was elevated to the Supreme Court Bench and finally in 1964, he became the Chief Justice of India.