Former Supreme Court Justice S Abdul Nazeer sworn in as Andhra Pradesh Governor

Justice Nazeer was appointed the new Governor of Andhra Pradesh as the incumbent, Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, was shifted to Chhattisgarh.

This essentially cut short Harichandan’s five-year tenure as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. He was appointed as Andhra Pradesh governor in July 2019.

రాజ్ భవన్ లో హై టీ కార్యక్రమం. pic.twitter.com/FQZXW0o2Zv

— CMO Andhra Pradesh (@AndhraPradeshCM) February 24, 2023

Related: Abdul Nazeer appointed AP Governor; Harichandan shifted

Part of several historic verdicts

Karnataka-born Justice Nazeer, who retired on 4 January, has been part of several pathbreaking verdicts, including those on the politically sensitive Ayodhya land dispute, instant “triple talaq”, and the one that declared the “right to privacy” a fundamental right.

Elevated as a judge of the apex court on 17 February, 2017, Justice Nazeer was part of several Constitution benches that delivered judgements on issues ranging from the demonetisation of currency notes of ₹1,000 and ₹500 denominations in 2016 to the reservation for Marathas in admissions and government jobs, and the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression of high public functionaries.

Justice Nazeer, who studied law at the SDM Law College in Mangaluru, was part of a five-judge Constitution bench that, in November 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for a mosque.

The Justice Nazeer-led five-judge Constitution benches delivered two separate verdicts this year, including the one which by a majority of 4:1 validated the legality of the Centre’s 2016 decision to demonetise the ₹1,000 and ₹500 denomination currency notes, saying the decision-making process was neither flawed nor hasty.

(With PTI inputs)