The Central government has appointed former Delhi High Court Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain as the chairperson of the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) at Delhi.

The appointment is for a term of five years or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier. The appointment was communicated by the Finance Ministry's Department of Financial Services through a letter dated April 1.

Justice Jain is currently serving as a Member of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). He has been directed to take charge at DRAT immediately or within 30 days from the date of issuance of the appointment letter, i.e., by April 30, 2026.

Justice Jain was born on November 10, 1962. He holds LL.B, LL.M and Ph.D from the Faculty of Law of Delhi University.

He began his career as an advocate practising before the Delhi District Courts and the Delhi High Court. He also served as a lecturer at the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, before joining judicial service.

He joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992 and was promoted to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service in 2003. During his judicial career, he handled civil, criminal, rent and CBI matters.

He served as Principal District & Sessions Judge in Shahdara and North-East districts of Delhi, and later as Principal District & Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (PC Act) at Rouse Avenue Courts.

He also held key academic roles at the Delhi Judicial Academy as Joint Director, Additional Director and Director. He was a member of the Academic Council of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, and regularly contributed to judicial training programmes across India.

A trained and accredited mediator, he has conducted mediation in around 12,000 cases and delivered over 100 training programmes on mediation. He has also spoken at several national and international conferences on the subject.

He was elevated as a judge of the Delhi High Court on February 28, 2022, and retired on November 9, 2024.

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