B. N. Agrawal

Biswanath N. Agrawal (born 15 October 1944) is a former judge at Supreme Court of India. He started as a judge at Patna High Court in November 1986. Later, he was promoted as the Chief Justice at Orissa High Court in November 1999. He got to the Supreme Court of India as a judge on October 19, 2000 and retired in 2009.^[1][2] He opposed National Judicial Commission legislation in 2014 that could move judges from one state to other. He said:^[3]

“If Judiciary is finished, democracy will be finished. This bill (National Judicial Appointments Commission) affects the independence of the judiciary, there is no doubt about it. The way Governors are being transferred to Mizoram, the Chief Justices and judges of the HCs will be transferred to newly created HCs in North East. No judge will be able to pass strong orders."

Justice Biswanath Agrawal
17th Chief justice of Odisha High Court
In office 18 November 1999 – 18 October 2000
Preceded by	Sailendu Nath Phukan
Succeeded by	N. Y. Hanumanthappa
Personal details
Born	(1944-10-15)15 October 1944

Career

Agrawal was born in 1944. He passed LL.B. and started practice in the Patna High Court in 1996. He worked mainly in Civil and Constitutional matters.^[4] He was appointed a judge of Patna High Court on 17 November 1986. Agarwal became the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court in November 1999. Thereafter he was elevated to the post of the Justice of Supreme Court of India on 19 October 2000.^[5]

Controversy

In September 2017, it was alleged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that Mr. Agrawal took large sums from the Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow^[6] to help in getting them favourable orders. A special investigation team was formed by the Supreme Court to investigate the issue.^[7][8]

References

1. Venkatesan, J. (2009-10-15). "Justice B.N. Agrawal retires". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
2. Bench, Bar & (15 October 2009). "Supreme Court Justice BN Agrawal turns 65 retires". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
3. Singh, Ajmer. "Judges could meet the same fate as Governors: Justice BN Agrawal". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
4. "Chief Justices/ Judges Elevated to Supreme Court | Orissa High Court, Cuttack". orissahighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
5. "Orissa High Court, Cuttack". 164.100.185.172. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
6. Pioneer, The. "CBI arrests retd judge of Orissa HC". The Pioneer. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
7. "A Sad Moment in India's Judicial History". The Wire. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
8. "Retired Orissa High Court Judge Booked in Medical College Scam". www.news18.com. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2021-06-14.