Sikh judge promoted to U.K. Court of Appeal

A British Sikh has become the first Indian-origin judge to be promoted to one of the senior-most posts in the U.K. judicial system.

Sir Rabinder Singh is one of the seven judges to occupy the seven-member U.K. Court of Appeal after new judicial appointments were unveiled by the government this week.

The 53-year-old High Court judge, known for his characteristic white turbans in court, was born in Delhi before his family moved to the U.K.

He won a scholarship to a prestigious school in Bristol and went on to study law at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He then studied at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a Masters in Law in 1986.

As he could not afford to study for the U.K. Bar exam, he served as a lecturer in law at the University of Nottingham from 1986 to 1988 before winning a scholarship from the Inns of Court in London.

He was called to the Bar in 1989 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 2002.