Justice Syed Abdul Nazeer, a former Supreme Court (SC) judge who participated in the historic rulings on demonetization, the Babari Masjid- Ayodhya title dispute, triple talaq, and a judgement that held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right, appointed as the governor of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

Abdul Nazeer was born into a Muslim family belonging to Kanara region of Karnataka. He was a former Judge of both Supreme Court of India and Karnataka High Court of India.

Justice Nazeer, who was born on January 5, 1958, was chosen as a Karnataka High Court judge in 2003. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017. The Collegium justified his direct ascension as a measure to include a judge from the underrepresented community and promote diversity on the Bench.

He was a part of the five-judge bench which decided the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi case in November 2019. The five – judge constitution bench’s order cleared the way for the building of the Ram temple at the contentious site of Ayodhya and ordered the government to give the Sunni Waqf Board a five-acre tract of land for a mosque.

Also he headed the bench which upheld the demonetisation move of the Narendra Modi government in 2016. Justice Nazeer was also part of a constitution bench which held no further restriction can be added to the right to free speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Abdul Nasser Madani, Kerala’s People Democratic Party, facing trial in the Bengaluru blasts case of 2008, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking for permission to go to Kerala from Bengaluru and to reside there until the 2008 Bengaluru serial explosions case trial was over. That time the judge Abdul Nazeer had made serious allegation about  Abdul Nasser Madani”, a dangerous man”

Congress has come against the new appointment. “Modi work for Adani… Who work for Modi…are now Governors. Who works for people then? (sic)” Congress MP Manickam Tagore tweeted, while reacting to his appointment.

 Many other political leaders including Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra expressed her contempt about the appointment. “Yet another SC judge appointed governor less than 2 months after retirement. Majoritarian govt doesn’t care about perception but how shameless are you, MiLord to accept it?”, Moitra tweeted.