Avinash Deobhakta

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Avinash Deobhakta
Personal details
Born Avinash Ganesh Deobhakta
(1936-11-24)24 November 1936
Lahore, Punjab, British Raj
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Auckland, New Zealand
Profession Lawyer
Known for First New Zealand judge of Indian origin

Avinash Ganesh Deobhakta (24 November 1936 – 2 September 2015) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He was the first person of Indian origin to be appointed a District Court judge in New Zealand.

Biography

Born on 24 November 1936 in Lahore (then in British India, now in Pakistan),[1] Deobhakta was educated in London, and then returned to Uganda.[2] A lawyer, he rose to become the principal state attorney in the Ugandan Department of Public Prosecutions, and was later a chief magistrate.[2] Following the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972, Deobhakta emigrated to New Zealand with his family,[3] and became a naturalised New Zealander in 1978.[1]

Settling in Auckland, Deobhakta practised as a barrister sole until his appointment as a District Court judge in 1982.[2] He was the first judge in New Zealand of Indian origin.[4] He was also chair of the Waikeria District Prisons Board, and in 2002 was appointed to the New Zealand Parole Board as a northern region panel convenor.[2]

Deobhakta died in Auckland on 2 September 2015.[5]

References

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