Marinazhg at 07:28, 23 April 2026

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{{Short description|Judge of the Supreme Court of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dipankar Datta
| image = [[File:Justice Dipankar Datta.jpg|alt|250px]]
| office = Judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]]
| term_start = 12 December 2022
| term_end =
| appointer = [[Droupadi Murmu]]
| nominator = [[Uday Umesh Lalit]]
| office1 = 45th [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Bombay High Court]]
| term_start1 = 28 April 2020
| term_end1 = 11 December 2022
| appointer1 = [[Ram Nath Kovind]]
| nominator1 = [[Sharad Arvind Bobde]]
| predecessor1 = [[B. P. Dharmadhikari]]
| successor1 = [[Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka|R. D. Dhanuka]]
| office2 = Judge of the [[Calcutta High Court]]
| appointer2 = [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]]
| nominator2 = [[Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal]]
| term_start2 = 22 June 2006
| term_end2 = 27 April 2020
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|2|9|df=y}}
| alma_mater = [[University of Calcutta]]
| birth_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]]
| relations = [[Amitava Roy]] (brother-in-law)
}}

'''Dipankar Datta''' (born 9 February 1965) is an [[Indian People|Indian]] [[jurist]] who is currently serving as a judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bombay HC Chief Justice Dipankar Datta elevated to Supreme Court |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/bombay-hc-chief-justice-dipankar-datta-elevated-to-supreme-court-101670786228728.html |access-date=6 February 2023 |work=Hindustan Times |date=12 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref> He is a former chief justice of the [[Bombay High Court]] and former judge of the [[Calcutta High Court]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.calcuttahighcourt.nic.in/bio/dipankar_datta.html |title=Calcutta High Court biography |access-date=4 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203232457/http://www.calcuttahighcourt.nic.in/bio/dipankar_datta.html |archive-date=3 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Datta was born in 1965 in a [[Bengali people|Bengali]] family. He came from a family with legal background. His father late Salil Kumar Datta, was a former Judge of the [[Calcutta High Court]]. His brother in law Justice [[Amitava Roy]], is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hakim |first=Sharmeen |date=2022-12-12 |title=Who Is Justice Dipankar Datta? |url=https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/who-is-justice-dipankar-datta-216416 |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.livelaw.in |language=en}}</ref> Datta acquired his Bachelor of Laws from the [[Hazra Law College]], [[Calcutta University|University of Calcutta]]. He was in the first batch of 5 years Law course in the year 1989.<ref>{{cite news |last1=সংবাদদাতা |first1=নিজস্ব |title=বিমান-ট্রেন বন্ধ, কাজে যোগ দিতে গাড়িতেই মুম্বই-শিলং পাড়ি বিচারপতিদের |url=https://www.anandabazar.com/state/lockdown-in-india-kolkata-justice-to-drive-down-mumbai-to-take-oath-as-chief-justice-dgtl-1.1141116?ref=home-pq-six-stry-6 |accessdate=24 April 2020 |work=anandabazar.com |language=bn}}</ref>

==Career==
After completing his [[Bachelor of Laws]] he was enrolled as an [[advocate]] on 16 November 1989. He started practising at the High Court at Calcutta and worked as a state panel lawyer also. He also practised at the [[Supreme Court of India]] and other High Courts at other states in India. He has specialized in Constitutional matters and Civil cases. Datta was the Counsel for the Union of India since 1998. He had appeared on behalf of the [[School Education Department, West Bengal|School Education Department]], [[University of Calcutta]], West Bengal Board in Secondary Education and the West Bengal School Service Commission. He was the Junior Standing Counsel for the [[State of West Bengal]] from 16 May 2002 to 16 January 2004. Datta was a guest lecturer in the [[Hazra Law College]] from the year 1996–1997 to 1999–2000.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===In High Courts===
He was elevated to the [[Bench (law)|Bench]] of the [[Calcutta High Court]] as a permanent Judge on 22 June 2006 and served there till April 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Calcutta High Court - Judges|url=https://www.calcuttahighcourt.gov.in/Judges/32|access-date=2021-08-13|website=www.calcuttahighcourt.gov.in}}</ref>

On 23 April 2020, he was appointed as the chief justice of the [[Bombay High Court]] and took oath on 28 April 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=President appoints Calcutta HC judge Dipankar Dutta as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/president-appoints-calcutta-hc-judge-dipankar-dutta-as-chief-justice-of-bombay-hc-6376225/ |accessdate=24 April 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=23 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hon'ble Justices|title=HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE|url=https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/processjshowReq.php?bhcpar=bmlkPTE=|url-status=live|access-date=13 August 2021|website=bombayhighcourt.nic.in|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920234150/https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/processjshowReq.php?bhcpar=bmlkPTE= |archive-date=20 September 2020 }}</ref>

===In Supreme Court===
On 12 December 2022, he was elevated as a judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]]. He is due to retire on 8 February 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-13 |title=Justice Dipankar Datta sworn-in as Supreme Court judge |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/justice-dipankardatta-sworn-in-as-supreme-court-judge-8320986/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-12-12 |title=Ex-Bombay HC Chief Justice Dipankar Datta takes oath as Supreme Court judge |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ex-bombay-hc-chief-justice-dipankar-datta-takes-oath-as-supreme-court-judge/article66253854.ece |access-date=2022-12-15 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== Controversies ==
In August 2025, Justice Dipankar Datta faced criticism for his remarks during a Supreme Court hearing of a criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The case stemmed from Gandhi's statements during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in December 2022, where he alleged that Chinese troops had occupied 2,000 square kilometers of Indian territory and were "thrashing Indian Army soldiers" in Arunachal Pradesh. Justice Datta questioned the credibility of Gandhi's claims, stating, "How do you get to know that 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory was occupied by China? What is the credible material? If you are a true Indian, you would not say this." He further asked why such statements were made on social media instead of in Parliament. These remarks drew objections from Congress leaders and the INDIA bloc, who deemed them "unwarranted" and an overreach into political rights, with Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das asserting that Justice Datta had "no business questioning Rahul Gandhi's Indianness." Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also defended her brother, stating that it is not the judiciary's role to determine who qualifies as a "true Indian." Despite the controversy, the Supreme Court stayed the defamation proceedings against Gandhi.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-08-05 |title=Justice Dipankar Datta had no business questioning Rahul Gandhi's Indianness, says Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/justice-dipankar-datta-had-no-business-questioning-rahul-gandhis-indianness-says-odisha-congress-president-bhakta-charan-das/articleshow/123109974.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2025-08-05 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Supreme Court Stays Rahul Gandhi Defamation Case; Says, 'If You Were True Indian, You Wouldn't Say All This' |url=https://thewire.in/law/supreme-court-rahul-gandhi-defamation-case-true-indian |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-08-05 |title=INDIA bloc says Supreme Court observations on Rahul Gandhi is 'unwarranted'; Priyanka Gandhi says judges can't decide who is a true Indian |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-bloc-says-supreme-court-observations-on-rahul-gandhi-is-unwarranted-priyanka-gandhi/article69896493.ece |access-date=2025-08-05 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Datta, Dipankar}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Judges of the Calcutta High Court]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Chief justices of the Bombay High Court]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of India]]

Dipankar Datta - Revision history

Marinazhg at 07:28, 23 April 2026