Sujata Manohar

Sujata Vasant Manohar (born 28 August 1934) is an Indian judge and a member of the National Human Rights Commission of India. She is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Early life and education

Ms. Manohar was born into a family with a strong legal background - her father would later become the second Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat. She graduated from Elphinstone College, Bombay, and then went to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Career

After Oxford, she was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn having simultaneously passed all papers in Parts 1 & 2 of the Bar Exam. She returned to India where she began practice in 1958 on the original side of the High Court of Bombay. She dealt primarily with commercial matters, but also took many family law cases under legal aid schemes. This was before India had a formal state legal aid programme, so she voluntarily associated herself with over 30 non-governmental organisations.