Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel sworn in as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court

Delhi: Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel has been sworn in as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court today in a function held at Raj Niwan in Delhi. Justice Patel was earlier posted at the Jharkhand High Court. The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended his name for the appointment as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

The appointment was made pursuant to a Collegium resolution passed earlier this month. The resolution was passed in view of the impending retirement of current Chief Justice Rajendra Menon.

Justice DN Patel was born in March 1960. He obtained his LLB degree in 1984 and thereafter his LLM qualification in 1986. Following his enrolment in 1984, he practiced in the Gujarat High Court. His areas of practice included Civil, Criminal and Constitutional, Excise and Customs matters.

Among the prominent roles he has served during his years of legal practice are Special Counsel for Gujarat in other High Courts, panel Advocate for entities such as the Gujarat Public Service Commission, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority, Ahmedabad District Panchayat, Provident Fund Commissioner, BSNL and the AICTE. He also taught as a part-time lecturer at his alma mater, the Sir LA Shah Law College, Ahmedabad for 9 years.

In 1991, he was appointed Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the High Court of Gujarat. In 1999 he served as the in-Charge Government Pleader of the State of Gujarat. The same year, he was appointed Additional Central Government Standing Counsel. In 2001, he was designated Senior Central Government Standing Counsel.

He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in March 2004. In 2006, he was made a permanent judge. He was thereafter transferred to the Jharkhand High Court in February 2009. He has served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court four times between 2013 and 2018.