B. G. Kolse Patil

2021-12-27T10:32:53Z

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{{short description|Social activist and former judge (b. 1942)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
'''B. G. Kolse Patil''' is an Indian social activist and former judge of the [[Bombay High Court]] in India. He recently{{When|date=December 2021}} joined the [[Janata Dal (Secular)]] party as the State Secretary of Maharashtra State.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/retired-hc-judge-b-g-kolse-patil-joins-fray-in-aurangabad-seeks-congress-allies-support/articleshow/68385683.cms|title=Retired HC judge B G Kolse Patil joins fray in Aurangabad, seeks Congress, allies’ support|date=13 March 2019|work=The Times of India}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
[[File:Portrait - B. G. Kolse Patil.jpg|thumb]]
Patil was born on 18 September 1942, in the village of Guha, [[Ahmednagar]] (in present-day [[Maharashtra state]]). His parents were landless [[farm laborer]]s, who worked on the fields of the local landlord for daily wages.<ref name="Interview-Early-Life">{{cite web |last1=Kolse Patil |first1=B.G. |title=Interview |url=https://sabrangindia.in/interview/farm-labourer-erudite-defence-counsel-public-prosecutor-high-court-judge-bg-kolse-patil |ref=https://sabrangindia.in/interview/farm-labourer-erudite-defence-counsel-public-prosecutor-high-court-judge-bg-kolse-patil}}</ref> He attended a local [[primary school]] till 7th grade, after which he dropped out because his parents couldn't afford the high school fees. He worked as a farm-hand for five years and rejoined high school when the government high school in Ahmednagar started providing free [[secondary education]]. He completed his education till 12th grade and thereafter attained a [[B.Sc. degree]], supporting his education by working as a daily wage worker and doing several odd jobs.<ref name="Interview-Early-Life" /> After B.Sc., he secured an appointment as a school teacher in Khadakwasala near [[Pune]]. While working as a teacher, he completed his [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree from the Law College in Pune and specialized in criminal law thereafter.

== Legal career ==
His career as a lawyer was fairly successful and he gained fame due to his role in a few high-profile trials like the Manwath murder case and the [[Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders]] trial. He joined the Pune bar council in 1973. In that capacity, he raised the issue of relaxing the judicial entry age limit by ten years for backward [[Castes in India|castes]] and five years for all categories. He was appointed district [[public prosecutor]] in 1981 by the [[government of Maharashtra]] and continued in that role till 1985. In 1985, at the age of 43, he was appointed as judge of the Bombay High Court.<ref name="Court-Site">{{cite web |last1=Bombay High Court |first1=Former Judges |title=Former Judges |url=https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/jshowpuisne.php?auth=amdldGlkPTI0MyZwYWdlbm89MjU= |ref=https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/jshowpuisne.php?auth=amdldGlkPTI0MyZwYWdlbm89MjU=}}</ref>

During his judicial tenure, he delivered strict judgments against [[tax]] and [[octroi]] evaders. His judgement in "Kanjilal Premjit vs Range Forest Officer"<ref name="case-saw-mill">{{cite web |last1=Kantilal Premjit vs Union of India |title=Casemine |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5608f9e8e4b0149711146164 |ref=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5608f9e8e4b0149711146164}}</ref> led to an amendment to the Forest Act which held [[saw-mill]] owners liable to punishment for buying illegally chopped timber. Another of his notable judgments was in the case of "Associated Bearings Pvt. Ltd. vs the Union of India";<ref name="case-tax-refund">{{cite web |last1=Associated Bearings vs Union of India |title=Casemine |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5608f9f7e4b01497111464c2 |ref=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5608f9f7e4b01497111464c2}}</ref> he held that taxes evaded by exploiting [[Tax break|loopholes]] should not be retrospectively refunded by the government to corporations because the corporations do not refund the consumers and effectively pass the [[tax burden]] to them. His difference of opinion with Justice Shah, in that case, is widely cited in the legal literature. He was also instrumental in getting the government to institute the [[Aurangabad]] of the Bombay High Court.

He resigned prematurely from the judiciary in 1990 to pursue social activism full-time.

== Activism ==
After leaving the judiciary, he founded the Lokshashan Andolan (People's Democratic Movement). He has been associated with another former judge-turned-activist Justice P.B. Sawant (former judge of the Supreme Court of India). He spearheaded various grassroots movements throughout Maharashtra. Most of the movements were for social and economic justice for rural, Adivasi, small farmers and displaced people.<ref name="wikileaks">{{cite web |last1=Kolse-Patil |first1=Surveillance Report and Profile |title=Stratfor Papers |url=https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/attach/9/9519_Kholsepatilprofile.doc |website=WikiLeaks |ref=https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/attach/9/9519_Kholsepatilprofile.doc}}</ref> Notable movements among them include:
[[File:IMG-20190311-WA0009.jpg|thumb|An agitation march of landless and small farmers in Maharashtra, led by B. G. Kolse-Patil]]

* Anti Enron protests in Maharashtra in the late 1990s. In 1997, he was arrested under section 151 of the CrPC to prevent him and his associates from taking part in the planned hunger strike against Dhabol Power project.<ref name="wikileaks"/>
* Movement of farmers and Adivasis against the Alibag SEZ in the 2000s
* Protest against the Dow chemicals plant in Shinde-Vasuli near Pune<ref name="wikileaks"/>
* Movement against the [[Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project]] in Konkan

Besides popular movements, he has been part of fact-finding teams which have investigated several matters of civil rights and social justice, such as:

* Fact-finding team investigating Khairlanji murder case in 2006
* Rehabilitation and resettlement of Manibeli Oustees Sardar Sarovar project inquiry report (Inquiry into the status of Manibeli Oustees conducted by him on behalf of Indian People's Tribunal on Environment & Human Rights)
* Concerned Citizens Inquiry on the Nanded blast in February 2007

For his role in these people movements, he was kept under surveillance and profiled by the private surveillance company Stratfor, which had been hired by Dow Chemicals. This was revealed when WikiLeaks released the Stratfor papers.

== Politics ==
In March 2019, he announced his candidature for the [[2019 Lok Sabha election]] from Aurangabad constituency<ref name="times-1">{{cite news |title=Retired Judge Kolse Patil to contest Lok Sabha polls |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/retired-judge-kolse-patil-to-contest-ls-polls/articleshow/68174372.cms | date=27 February 2019 | newspaper=The Times of India | access-date=20 September 2019}}</ref> on behalf of the opposition alliance called [[Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi]] (''Front of the Deprived Majority'') on a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket with support from the Congress.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patil, B. G.}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Janata Dal (Secular)]]
[[Category:Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Indian politicians]]
[[Category:Judges of the Bombay High Court]]

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B. G. Kolse Patil