{"id":221,"date":"2012-03-28T02:00:18","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T20:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/?page_id=221"},"modified":"2013-02-02T22:06:05","modified_gmt":"2013-02-02T16:36:05","slug":"index","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/?page_id=221","title":{"rendered":"Life Sketch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Late Justice Prabodh D. Desai, was born at Bharuch on 14th<\/sup> December, 1930. He was the son of late Dinkarrao Desai who was in the freedom struggle and had later on become the Minister for Law and Education in the then Bombay State. Justice Desai completed his Primary and secondary education in the modest atmosphere of a district place like Bharuch, and thereafter joined St. Xavier\u2019s College, Bombay, and completed his Graduation with entire Economics from the said College in 1950. Thereafter, he obtained Master\u2019s Degree in Advance Economics from University School of Economics, Bombay, in 1952 and LL.B. Degree from Government Law College, Bombay, in 1953. He was married to Leenaben in the year 1954. He joined the Bar on the Appellate Side of the Bombay High Court in 1955. Leenaben joined service in the Legislative Assembly Secretariat of the then Bombay State in 1957. Her job was a great help to them in the initial days of practice of Justice Desai. Apart from this initial support, Leenaben proved to be a friend, philosopher and guide to Justice Desai in good, bad and sad times. In his own words she was Cheerful and content, thoughtful and intelligent, helpful and accommodating, courageous and tolerant, a true companion with versatile personality.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Justice Desai was just settling down in practice in the Bombay High Court, bifurcation of the bilingual Bombay State into Maharashtra and Gujarat took place on 1st<\/sup> May 1960 as a consequence whereof he and his wife were required to shift to Ahmedabad in May 1960.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Ahmedabad, Justice Desai resumed practice in the newly established Gujarat High Court while Leenaben resumed service in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. After he had put in practice for a little more than a decade, he was called to accept Judgeship in the High Court of Gujarat in February 1970. He was sworn in, as judge of the Gujarat High Court on 19th<\/sup> February 1970. He was appointed Acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court on 15th<\/sup> March 1983 and then Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, Calcutta and Bombay High Courts, respectively on 23rd<\/sup> December 1983, 14th<\/sup> November 1988 and 7th<\/sup> January 1991. <\/span><\/p>\n

A great turn came in Leenaben\u2019s life with the transfer of Justice Desai on his appointment as Chief Justice. To accompany him to the place of his transfer, she quit her job. She accepted cold and isolated four years in Himachal Pradesh and subsequent period in Calcutta and Mumbai as a welcome opportunity for reviving her favourite hobbies of embroidery and writing of letters to friends and relatives. She had interest in singing and dancing too and was expert in culinary skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Justice Desai\u2019s contribution in the field of law covers wide range in Constitutional, Labour, Company, Commercial, Fiscal and Civil Laws. He had imbibed high degree of intellectual integrity and never flinched from doing what was right regardless of consequences. His contemporaries knew him as a truly independent judge, a judge who had nothing to fear and nothing to hope for in respect of anything done in the performance of his judicial functions and served as a role model to many. Despite being a strict disciplinarian and a hard taskmaster, he always had a soft corner for the junior lawyers. From the Bench, he trained many a junior lawyer with love and affection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Justice Desai was appointed a Member of the Arrears Committee constituted by the Supreme Court and the report given by this Committee was accepted by the Government. He was one of the members of the Judges\u2019 Inquiry Committee constituted by the then Hon\u2019ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha to inquire into the grievances against Justice V. Ramaswami, a former Supreme Court Judge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Justice Desai retired as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on 13th<\/sup> December 1992. Soon after his settling down in Ahmedabad after retirement Justice P. D. Desai lost his wife on 24th<\/sup> September 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Narmada Dam Case was before the Supreme Court, the name of Justice P. D. Desai for presiding over the Grievances Redressal Authority to be set up by the state of Gujarat, came to be readily accepted by the Bench and the Bar. He was appointed as Chairman of the Grievances Redressal Authority for Sardar Sarovar Project Affected persons on 19th<\/sup> February 1999. He accepted the appointment and got engrossed wholeheartedly in the work of redressal of the grievances and the rehabilitation of the project affected families without accepting any remuneration and rendered yeoman\u2019s service to Gujarat totally regardless of the gravity of the ailment which, he alone knew, he was suffering from and to which he succumbed a few years later. <\/span><\/p>\n

On Leenaben\u2019s first death anniversary, i.e. on 24th<\/sup> September 1995, Justice Desai created Praleen Public Charitable Trust. Word Praleen represented both \u201cPrabodh\u201d and \u201cLeena\u201d. By his Will dated 29th<\/sup> April 2004, barring a few specific bequests and a family trust created for a specified period, Justice Desai has bequeathed the entire residue of his self acquired property as well as that of Leenaben inherited by him, to Praleen Public Charitable Trust. Justice P. D. Desai breathed his last on 17th<\/sup> May, 2004.<\/span><\/p>\n

Justice Desai\u2019s innate desire to do something for upliftment of those who are financially backward found expression in his dispensation of justice and rehabilitation and resettlement of Sardar Sarovar Project Affected Persons. Praleen Public Charitable Trust was the outcome of the same desire, so that the objects for which he strived all his life could be fulfilled by the Trust even after his death.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ad\u00ad——————-<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Late Justice Prabodh D. Desai, was born at Bharuch on 14th December, 1930. He was the son of late Dinkarrao Desai who was in the freedom struggle and had later on become the Minister for Law and Education in the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/221"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=221"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229,"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/221\/revisions\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicepddesaifoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}