Justice P.B. Varale
Justice P.B. Varale
Sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of India
Assumed Office25th Jan, 2024
Retires On22nd Jun, 2027
Previously
Chief Justice of Karnataka High CourtOctober 15th 2022 - January 24th 2024
Permanent Judge of Bombay High CourtJuly 15th 2011- October 14th 2022
Additional Judge of Bombay High CourtJuly 18th 2008- July 14th 2011
Profile
Early life and Education
Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale was born on 23 June 1962, in the city of Nipani, in the Belgaum district of Karnataka. He graduated from the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University with a degree in Arts and Law in Aurangabad.
Career as an Advocate
On 12 August 1985, Justice Varale enrolled in the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. In his 23 years as a practising lawyer, he practised in civil, criminal, labour, and administrative matters in District and Sessions Court of Aurangabad. He also appeared in constitutional matters before the Bombay High Court Bench in Aurangabad.
Between 1990 and 1992, he served as a lecturer in Law at his alma mater, Ambedkar Law College, Aurangabad.
Justice Varale was appointed as the Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the High Court Bench in Aurangabad. He was later appointed the Additional Standing Counsel for the Union of India.
Career as a Judge
Justice Varale was appointed as the Additional Judge of Bombay High Court on 18 July 2008. Two years later, on 15 July 2011, he was elevated to a Permanent Judge of the High Court.
On 28 September 2022, after serving at the Bombay High Court for 14 years, the Supreme Court collegium led by Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit recommended Justice Varale as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. On 15 October 2022, the Union government appointed Justice Varale as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court.
On 19 January 2024, the Supreme Court collegium led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud recommended Justice Varale as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
The resolution took into consideration his seniority among other Judges from a Scheduled Caste. He is also the only Chief Justice of a high court from the scheduled caste community. The collegium also considered his varied judgement authorship which covers a wide range of legal issues.
On 24 January 2024, the Union appointed Justice Varale as a judge of the Supreme Court. He was the 15th Judge to be appointed under the collegium led by CJI Chandrachud.