By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 17 Dec: Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia’s promotion as Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court, is a moment of pride not only for his illustrious family but for the entire state. Dhulia is currently posted as a senior judge at the Uttarakhand High Court. He is the third judge from the state of Uttarakhand, after Justice PC Pant and Justice VK Bist, to have been promoted as Chief Justice of a High Court following the recommendation of his name by the Supreme Court’s collegium.
It may be recalled that Sudhanshu Dhulia had been practising at the Nainital High Court when he was appointed a permanent high court judge in the year 2008.
He came to Nainital after the formation of Uttarakhand. Here, he was appointed as the first Chief Standing Council (CSC). He later also took over as Additional Advocate General. In June 2004, he was named Senior Advocate. On 1 November, 2008, he became a permanent justice of the High Court.
Born in 1960, he has his roots in village Madanpur village, district Pauri. He received his education in Dehradun, Allahabad and Lucknow. He graduated from Allahabad University in 1981. After his Masters in Modern History in 1983, he obtained his LLB degree in 1986. He then began practicing as a lawyer with the Allahabad High Court. He came to Nainital after the formation of Uttarakhand. Here he was appointed as the first Chief Standing Council (CSC). He later also took over as Additional Advocate General. In June 2004, he was named Senior Advocate. On 1 November, 2008, he became a permanent justice of the High Court. It may be recalled that his father, the late Keshav Chandra Dhulia, was also a High Court judge and was posted to the Allahabad High Court.
His younger brother, Tigmanshu Dhulia, is a national award winning film maker while his mother, Sumitra Dhulia, is a retired professor who taught at the Central Pedagogical Institute, Allahabad. His mother stays by turn in Dehradun, Mumbai and Nainital with her sons. His other brother, Himanshu Dhulia, served with the Navy and is now settled in Dehradun. Justice Dhulia’s grandfather Bhairav Dutt Dhulia was not only an eminent freedom fighter but also a politician and an MLA from Lansdowne constituency of undivided Uttar Pradesh. He was also an active journalist who was involved in the publication of the well known Hindi newspaper, Karmabhoomi, from Kotdwar.