Indian-Origin woman judge at London Court |
An Indian-origin woman has become the first non-white judge to sit at the Old Bailey Court of London.Anuja Ravindra Dhir, who was advised to take up hairdressing by a teacher at her high school, is also the youngest circuit judge currently to sit at the court. The 49-year-old said that she is often mistaken for a witness or a defendant since she entered the legal profession. She recalls that while going to a crown court out of London the man at the gate didn`t believe she was a barrister. Ms Dhir was born in Dundee, Scotland, to Indian immigrant parents and studied at Harris Academy before studying English and Scots law at Dundee University. She subsequently won a Gray`s Inn scholarship in London, calling to the bar in 1989 where she practised for 23 years as both prosecutor and defence counsel. She recalls her dyslexia in school led her teachers to advice against dreaming of a legal career. She was rather advised to try hairdressing instead. Ms Dhir donned her judge`s robes as a circuit judge at the Central Criminal Courts, known as at the Old Bailey, in London in February.
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