Karnataka CM greets Justice Nazeer on becoming AP Guv

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his cabinet colleagues on Sunday congratulated former Supreme Court judge Justice S Abdul Nazeer on his appointment as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

In a tweet, Bommai said, “Congratulations to former Supreme Court judge, Justice S Abdul Nazeer from Karnataka on being appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes for a successful gubernatorial tenure.” Karnataka ministers K Sudhakar and C N Ashwath Narayan too extended their greetings to Justice Nazeer.

Justice Nazeer replaces the incumbent Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, who has been shifted to Chhattisgarh.

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

He was part of a five-judge Constitution bench, which had in November 2019 paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site at 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 Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination currency notes, saying the decision-making process was neither flawed nor hasty. The Centre on Sunday appointed six new faces as governors, besides carrying out a rejig of the gubernatorial posts in seven states.