Anuja Dhir
Her Honour Judge Anuja Dhir QC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Circuit Judge | |
| Assumed office 2012 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anuja Ravindra Dhir 19 January 1968 Dundee, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Sir Nicholas Lavender |
| Residence | London |
| Alma mater | University of Dundee |
| Occupation | Circuit Judge |
| Profession | Judge |
Anuja Ravindra Dhir QC (born 19 January 1968 at Dundee, Scotland), was the first non-white judge to be appointed to sit at the Old Bailey.[1]
Early and personal life[]
Born at Dundee in 1968 of Indian heritage,[2] Dhir was educated at Harris Academy before reading Law at Dundee University, graduating LLB in 1988. She then won a Gray's Inn scholarship and was called to the Bar in 1989.
She has been married since 2002 to Nicholas Lavender, formerly a QC,[3] who was appointed a High Court Judge (QBD), and knighted, in 2016,[4] when Dhir became notionally entitled to the formal syle of Lady Lavender, which she does not use.
In 2018, Dhir received an honorary degree (Hon LLD) from Dundee University.[5]
Career[]
Dhir practised as a barrister for 23 years, as counsel for both prosecution and defence, involved in serious criminal cases as well as cases involving national security and human rights.
Previously a member of various Bar Council Committees including the Equality Committee, the Professional Conduct Committee and Law Reform Committee, she has been heavily involved in advocacy training in the UK and abroad: she was head of teacher training for Gray's Inn and has led training in India, Sri Lanka, Jamaica (death row cases), Bermuda, Bhutan, Malaysia, Singapore (for the AG), Zimbabwe and South Africa.[6]
Elected a Bencher of Gray's Inn in 2009, she took silk and was appointed Recorder in 2010, before promotion as a Circuit Judge in 2012. In February 2017, at the age of 49, she became a Judge at the Old Bailey.[6]
In November 2018 she made the headlines after sentencing an 18 year-old youth, who had threatened a motorist with a knife, already with a previous conviction for robbery with a knife, to a suspended sentence of imprisonment.[7]
A Governor of the Hackney City Academy School since 2016, Dhir also serves as a Court Assistant of the Haberdashers' Company.[8]
References[]
- ^ "Indian-origin woman is first non-white judge at London court". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ www.ukwhoswho.com
- ^ www.counselmagazine.co.uk
- ^ www.royal.uk
- ^ www.dundee.ac.uk
- ^ a b "Judge Anuja Dhir QC – Hindu Lawyers Association". hindulawyers.org. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ 'Teenager who attacked car with zombie knife spared jail because he was kidnapped' www.metro.co.uk, 27 Nov 2018
- ^ www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
External links[]
- 1969 births
- Living people
- People from Dundee
- British people of Indian descent
- People educated at Harris Academy
- Alumni of the University of Dundee
- British barristers
- English judges
- British Queen's Counsel
- Members of Gray's Inn