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Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 6, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth12 March 1958

Age65 Years (as of 2023)

BirthplaceLohara, Balh Tehsil, Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh

ProfessionJudicial Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT); Former Judge, Himachal Pradesh High Court

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpousePromila Chaudhary

FamilySon: Prashant Chaudhary; Daughter: Vatsala Chaudhary (lawyer, HP Judicial Services)

Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary Biography

Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary is an Indian jurist from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. He served on the Himachal Pradesh High Court bench from 2012 to 2020, was

Early life and background

Dharam Chand Chaudhary was born on 12 March 1958 in Lohara village, Balh Tehsil, in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh. He grew up in a farming family and completed his early schooling in the local government higher secondary school at Hatgarh. Chaudhary pursued undergraduate studies at Government Degree College, Kullu, and earned his law degree (LLB) from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, completing his legal education in 1983.

Career

Chaudhary enrolled as an advocate on 10 May 1983. He practised for about a dozen years in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, subordinate courts and the erstwhile State Administrative Tribunal, handling civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, company and service matters. During this period he acted as standing counsel for a number of institutions and was on the panel of a bank to conduct High Court litigation on its behalf. He was also active in bar affairs, holding offices such as treasurer, secretary, vice-president and president of his bar association between 1986 and 1995. In 1994-95 he served as a non-official member of the Council of Law Reporting for the High Court of Himachal Pradesh.

In August 1995 Chaudhary joined the Himachal Pradesh Higher Judicial Service as an Additional District and Sessions Judge by direct recruitment. Early postings included Kullu (independent charge) and civil and sessions divisions at Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul & Spiti. He served in several district judge roles through the 2000s, including at Hamirpur, Mandi and Kullu, and held responsibilities such as President of District Consumer Fora for multiple districts.

From December 2006 onward he took on senior registry roles at the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, serving as Registrar (Rules)-cum-Principal Secretary to the Chief Justice, later as Registrar (Vigilance)-cum-Principal Secretary with charge of the Central Project Coordinator for the e-Courts project, and as Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee. He was Registrar General-cum-Principal Secretary to the Chief Justice from October 2010 to January 2012.

On 21 January 2012 Chaudhary was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and became a permanent judge on 18 January 2014. During his tenure on the high court bench he chaired the Computer Committee, the High Court Legal Services Committee and served as President of the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Academy. In June 2019 he was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He served on the high court until 11 March 2020.

After his high court tenure, Chaudhary joined the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) as a judicial member in September 2021. He began at the regional bench in Chandigarh and was also in charge of the Srinagar Bench at Jammu. In December 2022 he was appointed Judicial Member-cum-Head of Department of the Chandigarh Regional Bench. In that role he authored a number of judgments dealing with service and criminal matters affecting defence personnel, and issued orders aimed at securing pensions and relief for lower-ranked personnel and dependents.

Public profile

Chaudhary's family includes his wife, Promila Chaudhary, a son Prashant Chaudhary, and a daughter, Vatsala Chaudhary, who is a lawyer and serves in the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Services as a Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate. Vatsala became the first woman judge from the Balh region in 2016. Chaudhary's stated religion is Hinduism and he is identified as a resident of Lohara in Mandi district, with an additional address near Kasumpti, Shimla.

Latest updates

In 2023 Chaudhary's transfer from the AFT Chandigarh bench to the Kolkata bench became a matter of dispute. The AFT Chandigarh Bar Association objected to the transfer and initiated a strike, characterizing the move as an affront to the tribunal's judicial independence. The Supreme Court temporarily stayed the transfer in October 2023 and sought a confidential explanation; it later declined to continue the stay and asked the central government to respond to broader concerns about the AFT's relationship with the Ministry of Defence. The AFT chairperson cited an imbalance of judicial members across benches as the reason for the transfer.

Physical and personal notes

Publicly noted personal details include Chaudhary's age (65 years as of 2023), height of approximately 175 cm (about 5'9"), grey eyes and black hair. He maintains listed immovable and movable assets recorded in earlier financial disclosures and has been described as having a modest rural background that shaped his early life and entry into the legal profession.
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Recent Work

Judicial Member-cum-Head of Department, Chandigarh Regional Bench

Appointed Head of Department of the Chandigarh Regional Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal; authored judgments on military service and pension matters and directed implementation of a 2017 decision on pensions for some Naib Subedars.

2022-2023
Judicial Member, Armed Forces Tribunal

Appointed as a Judicial Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal and posted to the Chandigarh Regional Bench; also held charge of the Srinagar Bench.

2021
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Career Highlights

  1. Judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court (2012-2020)
  2. Acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court (June 2019)
  3. Judicial Member-cum-Head of Department, Chandigarh Regional Bench, Armed Forces Tribunal (2022-2023)
  4. Registrar General-cum-Principal Secretary to the Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh (2010-2012)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary born?

12 March 1958

What is Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary known for?

Judicial Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT); Former Judge, Himachal Pradesh High Court

What is Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary’s marital status?

Married

Who is Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary married to?

Promila Chaudhary