Chairperson

Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai was born on 30th October 1949 in Mumbai. She completed her Bachelor of Arts from the Elphinstone College in 1970 and her LL. B from the Government Law College in 1973.

She joined the legal profession on 30th July 1973. She worked as a junior in the chambers Late Justice S.C. Pratap, before he became a judge, where she got opportunity to appear in several civil and criminal matters. She also worked with her father Late Mr. S.G. Samant who was an eminent criminal lawyer, she was appointed as a Government Pleader on the Appellate Side of the Bombay High Court in 1979. She was appointed as Special Public Prosecutor for preventive detention matters for the Bombay High Court in 1986. She was appointed to the post of Chief Government Pleader, Appellate Side of the Bombay High Court on 1st November 1995.

She was elevated to the Bench of Bombay High Court on I 5th April 1996. She was elevated as a Judge of Supreme Court of India on 13th September 2011.

After her retirement from the Supreme Court, she was appointed as Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity with effect from 1st December 2014, a position which she held till 30th November 2017.

After completing her tenure as Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal of Electricity, she was appointed as Chairperson of the Advance Ruling Authority I Income Tax I with effect from 2nd July 2018, a position which she held till 29th October 2019.

She was appointed as Chairperson of the Delimitation Commission of India with effect from 6th March 2020, a position which she held till 5th May 2022 when the Commission headed by her completed its mandate and submitted the final Delimitation report for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

During the course of her career, she also served as ‘Chairperson of’ the Search Committee to recommend names for the post of Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal.

She served as Chairperson of the Committee constituted by the Uttarakhand Government on 27.05.2022 to make a report to enable the Government of Uttarakhand to frame Uniform Civil Code for the State. She is presently heading the Committee constituted by the Government of Gujarat for a similar purpose.

She was appointed as the Chairperson of the Press Council of India vide Gazette Notification dated 17th June 2022 and served as such till 16.12.2025.

She is presently serving as Chairperson of the Eighth Central Pay Commission vide Gazette Notification dated 3^rd November 2025.