Ahsanuddin Amanullah Wiki, Age, Family, Biography & More

Ahsanuddin Amanullah is an Indian lawyer and the former judge of the Patna High Court and Andhra Pradesh High Court. He was also the State Advocate General of Bihar. On 4 February 2023, President Droupadi Murmu appointed him as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Wiki/Biography

Ahsanuddin Amanullah was born on Saturday, 11 May 1963 (age 59 years; as of 2022) in Bihar, India. His zodiac sign is Taurus. After completing his schooling, he enrolled at Patna Law College, where he earned a degree in BSc (Chemistry Honours) LLB. In October 1989, he participated in the Inter-University Moot Court Competition, representing Patna University. The competition was organised by the Bar Council of India Trust at Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.

Family

Ahsanuddin Amanullah was born to an affluent family in Bihar.

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Nehaluddin Amanullah (deceased). His mother’s name is Ishrati Amanullah (deceased). He has two brothers named Afzal Hussain Amanullah and Faizal Amanullah.

Wife & Children

His wife’s name is Zeba Amanullah. His son’s name is Areeb Amanullah. His daughter’s name is Sadia Amanullah.

Religion/Religious Views

Ahsanuddin Ammanullah follows Islam.

Career

Ahsanuddin Amanullah cleared his Bihar State Bar Council examination on 27 September 1991 and started practising law in the Patna High Court. He not only represented his clients in the Patna High Court but also the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, Jharkhand High Court as well as the Calcutta High Court in matters related to Constitutional, Civil, Criminal, Service, Cooperative, Taxation, Labour, Corporate, and Forest. Ahsanuddin Amanullah specialises in Constitutional and Service laws. Apart from appearing before the High Courts and the Supreme Court, he has also appeared before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Board of Revenue, District Courts, and Consumer Disputes Redressal bodies. During the 2002 Bihar State Bar Council elections, he served as the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO). In 2006, he was appointed as the ARO in the Jharkhand State Bar Council elections. Ahsanuddin used to practice law privately; however, he left his private practice after he assumed the position of a member of the Standing Counsel to the Government of Bihar in March 2006 at the request of the then Bihar’s Advocate General. He served on the Standing Counsel till August 2010. The state government of Bihar appointed him as the Government Advocate, a post that he held from August 2010 till he became a judge of the Patna High Court on 20 June 2011. From 2006 to 2011, he played an important role in drafting and examining several acts that the Bihar Legislative Assembly had delegated to him. He has represented several cases in the courts related to social issues pro bono publico, which means free of cost or at a low fee. Ahsanuddin Amanullah was appointed by the Advocate General of Bihar to represent the State of Maharashtra, Maharashtra Police, and Mumbai Police at the Advocate General of Maharashtra’s special request. He later rendered his services to the Patna High Court as an Amicus Curiae. Later, he was appointed as the Special Counsel to the Government of India’s Income Tax Department in Ranchi at the Jharkhand High Court. To conduct an enquiry into the Dalsingsarai (Samastipur) Firing incident, the Government of Bihar constituted an enquiry commission under the aegis of the Samastipur District Administration and appointed Ahsanuddin Amanullah as the Counsel for the District Administration. He has also represented several government-owned as well as private-owned entities such as the Indian Railways, Unit Trust of India, Union Bank of India, RITES (previously Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited), Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), Bihar State Housing Board, Bihar State Electricity Board, Bihar State Textbook Publishing Corporation, Bihar State Cooperative Bank Limited, Bihar State Cooperative Marketing Union Limited (BISCOMAUN), Bihar Cooperative Land Development Bank Limited, Bihar State Agricultural Marketing Board, Bihar State Housing Cooperative Federation, Bihar State Credit and Investment Corporation (BICICO), Commercial Taxes Department (Government of Bihar), Magadh University at Bodh Gaya, Veer Kuer Singh University at Arrah, Samsung Corporation (Engineering & Construction Group), Mahindra and Mahindra, Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority, Bihar State Health Society etc, in the court of law. He was later appointed by the Patna High Court as a member of the panel of the Patna Legal Aid Committee, later renamed to High Court Legal Services Committee, on Criminal Appeals. Later, the Patna High Court appointed him the Chairman of the High Court Legal Services Committee and the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Committee. He served on the board of governors of the Bihar Judicial Academy in Patna. He was later appointed as the chancellor of the Chanakya National Law University in Patna. In 2021, a special five-judge bench gave its 4:1 decision and ordered the demolition of Waqf Bhavan, which was constructed near the Patna High Court. Ahsanuddin Amanullah, part of the special bench, gave his decision against the demolition of the building and said that the demolition of the building would be a harsh punishment as the building was not illegal. He said,

The structure was irregular and not an illegal one and deficiency could be removed, especially qua bringing the height of the structure within ten meters in conformity with Bye law 21. The Judge further held that the Corporation being a Government Company, its Architect would be deemed to be a Government Architect and in terms of Byelaw 8(A), therefore, once he had prepared the map for the building, no permission was required from the PMC and, even if it was assumed that the building was constructed in the absence of sanction from the competent authority, the map of the building could very well be submitted to the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) for post facto approval of the building.”

He has served as the chairman of the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BSLSA). On 10 October 2021, Ahsanuddin Amanullah was posted to Andhra Pradesh High Court as a judge.

There, he was appointed to the Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority as an Executive Chairman on 8 November 2021. He served as the judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court till 20 June 2022 after which he was posted back as a judge of the Patna High Court. On 4 February 2023, President Droupadi Murmu cleared Ahsanuddin Amanullah’s name, along with four other judges from other high courts, as a judge of India’s apex court, the Supreme Court. He was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court on 6 February 2023. He shall serve in the Supreme Court till 11 May 2028.

Controversy

Contempt of court petition filed by an advocate against Ahsanuddin Amanullah

In September 2018, an advocate named Alka Verma filed a suo motu cognizance petition against Ahsanuddin Amanullah. According to the High Court advocate’s petition, Ahsanuddin used derogatory remarks to humiliate Alka Verma while she was representing a case in the Patna High Court. Her application read,

That the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah by aforesaid act of utterances of uncharitable words towards the “officer of the court” in the open court, before the client and juniors and other learned advocates present in the court has not only violated the oath but also scandalized the Hon’ble Court. Therefore, it has been prayed by the applicant that the Patna High Court takes suo motu cognizance of the issue.”

She also claimed that the judge told her that she was empanelled in the High Court through lobbying. According to her, the judge said,

Pairavi kar kar ke panel main aate hai (One gets into panels through references) and Sirf bill banane me interest hai (One is only interested in getting one’s fee).”

Salary

Ahsanuddin Amanullah’s monthly salary as a Supreme Court judge is Rs 2,50,000 + other allowances (w.e.f. 1 January 2016).

Facts/Trivia

• While serving as the judge of the Patna High Court, he was invited to deliver a speech to the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) trainees at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.

• Ahsanuddin Amanullah became the second judge from Patna High Court to have been directly appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.