Tahliyani,a judge with a reputation for speed

Lawyers who have appeared before Justice Tahilyani said the chances of the 26/11 trial getting delayed under him are low. They also said he would ensure a patient hearing to each side.

Justice Tahilyani,who is called a ‘green judge’ on account of his passion for nature,was born in Gondia district. He studied law in Nagpur before being appointed as a Metropolitan Magistrate in 1987 at the Bandra Metropolitan Court. He was appointed the Assistant Sessions Judge in 1997 and later promoted as Additional Sessions Judge.

It is after a long gap that Justice Tahilyani and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam,who has been appointed to appear for the state,are figuring together in a trial. The last occasion was in 1997,during the Gulshan Kumar murder case trial. Justice Tahilyani had then convicted Abdul Rauf Merchant,an accused,to life imprisonment. He had also granted bail to South African judge Sirajuddin Mohammed Ibrahim Desai who was charged with raping a woman delegate attending the World Social Forum meeting in 2004.

Justice Tahilyani resides in South Mumbai with his wife. His daughter is a practising lawyer at the Bombay High Court.