Justice Abdul Nazeer, part of Ayodhya, demonetisation verdicts, appointed Andhra Guv

Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has been appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, a month after retiring from the Supreme Court. He was the lone Muslim judge in the bench which gave the judgment in Ayodhya case and paved the way for the construction of Ram temple.

The Ram Janmabhoomi temple- Babri Masjid was a long-drawn dispute between the two communities which the Supreme Court finally decided on 9 November 2019.

Justice Nazeer led the Constitution Bench that had upheld the 2016 demonetisation process. He had also declared that there was no need to impose additional restrictions on the free speech right of ministers, MPs, MLAs and leaders.

Born on 5 January 1958 at Beluvai in Karnataka, Justice Nazeer enrolled as an advocate on 18 February 1983 after completing his LLB degree from the SDM Law College, Mangaluru.

He practised in the Karnataka High Court and was appointed as its Additional Judge on 12 May 2003. He became a permanent judge on 24 September 2004 and was elevated to the Supreme Court on 17 February 2017.

Justice Nazeer was a part of several landmark constitution bench decisions, which included triple talaq, right to privacy, Ayodhya case, and recently on the Centre's 2016 decision on demonetisation, and free speech of lawmakers.

Earlier, Justice Nazeer said that the situation in the Indian judiciary today is not as grim as it used to be, though a wrong impression is conveyed due to misinformation.