J.B. Pardiwala

Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala was appointed as a Judge at the Supreme Court on May 9th, 2022. He is the fourth Parsi Judge to serve at the Court and the first minority High Court Judge to be appointed in the last five years after Justice Abdul Nazeer. Justice Pardiwala will also serve a two-year term as Chief Justice of India starting May 2028.

Early Life

Pardiwala was born in Mumbai on 12 August 1965 into a family of lawyers rooted in South Gujarat’s Valsad. His great-grandfather Navrojji Bhikaji Pardiwala began his legal practice in the town in 1894. His son, Cawasji Navrojji Pardiwala would go on to join the Valsad Bar in 1929. Justice Pardiwala’s father Burjor Cawasji Pardiwala followed in his footsteps, joining the Valsad Bar in 1955 and later becoming a Congress MLA. Between December 1989 to March 1990, his father also served as Speaker of the seventh Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Career as an Advocate

Pardiwala J began his legal practice in 1989 after completing his LL.B. from Valsad’s K.M. College—by 1990, he had begun practising at the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad. In 1994, he was elected as a Member of the Bar Council of Gujarat, a membership he retained until 2000. 2002 saw his appointment as Standing Counsel at the High Court of Gujarat and subordinate courts. Colleagues report that he cleared approximately 1,200 pending matters during his tenure.

Career as a Judge

On 17 February 2011, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court. He became a permanent judge on 28 January 2013. During his time at the Gujarat High Court, Justice Pardiwala also served as President of the Gujarat State Judicial Academy.

In 2012, Justice Pardiwala took a bold stance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his past Chief Ministership of Gujarat. Pardiwala and fellow High Court judge, Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya blamed Modi’s “inaction and negligence” for the destruction of over 500 religious structures in the state during the 2002 riots. A lawyer for the Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat stated that it was “​​the first time that a court has held the state government responsible” for […] the 2002 riots.” 

In 2015, while serving at the Gujarat High Court, Justice Pardiwala narrowly escaped an impeachment motion filed by 58 members of the Rajya Sabha. While delivering a judgment on the sedition charges filed against Hardik Patel, Justice Pardiwala had observed that reservations have stalled the progress of the country. Patel led the movement seeking ‘Other Backward Class’ status for the Patidar caste. Citing Justice Pardiwala’s criticism of the continued application of reservations for 65 years (as opposed to the initially envisioned 10), the motion criticised his ‘unconstitutional’ remarks and lack of awareness of affirmative action policies for historically oppressed communities. It was signed by a wide spectrum of politicians, including Digvijay Singh (Indian National Congress), D. Raja (Communist Party of India-Marxist), and Sharad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal). On application of the state government, Justice Pardiwala expunged these remarks from his Judgment a few days after the motion was filed. No further attempts were made for impeachment. 

In 2020, Justice Pardiwala and his future Supreme Court colleague Justice Vikram Nath issued a stay order on Ahmedabad’s annual Jagannath Rath Yatra celebrations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The stay order came after a PIL was sent by an activist concerned over the coronavirus’s spread. The High Court relied on a Supreme Court ruling that imposed a similar stay on Puri Jagannath. The Jagannath Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad is the second-largest celebration in the city in terms of annual participation. If allowed, it would have passed through routes with up to 1,600 active cases of COVID-19. 

In 2021, Justice Pardiwala and the Gujarat High Court used suo moto powers over concerns with the pollution in the Sabarmati River. This was apparently due to Ahmedabad’s sewage treatment plant not operating at its full potential and due to the illegal dumping of sewage from extraneous sources. The bench said that it was a “collective responsibility” to take care of the river, which a Gujarati activist said was in its “death throes.” The court added that any industrial units found to be illegally dumping sewage needed to be “penalised, named and shamed.”

On May 9th 2022, he was elevated to the Supreme Court. His term will end in 2030.

Figure 1 indicates that Justice Pardiwala has authored 82 judgements and was a part of 271 benches.