JUSTICE UJJAL BHUYAN
Date of Birth : 02-08-1964
Assumed Office : 14-07-2023
Retires on: 01-08-2029
JUDGEMENTS:
- Tarsem Lal v Directorate of Enforcement, Jalandhar Zonal Office
Directorate’s power to arrest under PMLA after Special Court’s cognizance
- State of Uttar Pradesh v Lalta Prasad Vaish
State’s power to regulate industrial alcohol
- Mineral Area Development Authority v Steel Authority of India
Nature of royalty paid by mine leaseholders
- Bilkis Yakub Rasool v Union of India
Early Release of Bilkis Bano Gangrape Convicts
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, born on August 2, 1964, in Guwahati, Assam, completed his early education at Don Bosco High School, Guwahati. He earned a bachelor’s degree in arts from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, followed by an LL.B. from Government Law College, Guwahati, and an LL.M. from Gauhati University. He is the son of Senior Advocate Suchednra Nath Bhuyan, a former Advocate General of Assam.
Justice Bhuyan enrolled with the Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh in March 1991. Specializing in revenue, labor, and taxation matters, he served as Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department for 16 years (1995–2011) and as Additional Government Advocate for Meghalaya for four years.
In March 2010, he was appointed Standing Counsel for the Gauhati High Court, followed by his designation as Senior Advocate in September 2010. In July 2011, he was elevated to Additional Advocate General for Assam. Over a 20-year advocacy career, he gained extensive experience at the Gauhati High Court.
Justice Bhuyan was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Gauhati High Court in October 2011 and became a Permanent Judge in March 2013. He was later transferred to the Bombay High Court in 2019 and to the Telangana High Court in 2021. On June 28, 2022, he was elevated as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.
In March 2023, Justice Bhuyan advocated for the inclusion of more women judges in larger benches at the Telangana High Court.
On July 5, 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended his elevation to the Supreme Court, emphasizing his expertise in taxation law. His appointment was formalized on July 12, 2023, and he was sworn in as a Supreme Court Judge on July 14, 2023.
Notable Judgments
In V. Vasanta Mogli v. State of Telangana (2023), Justice Bhuyan struck down the colonial-era Telangana Eunuchs Act, 1919. The Act authorized warrant-less arrests of transgender individuals and mandated their registration and control. Declaring the Act “manifestly arbitrary,” Justice Bhuyan ruled that it violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, infringing on the right to privacy and dignity of transgender persons.