Abdul Nazeer, the Former Judge Of Supreme Court has been appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, as it is being reported by news agency ANI. On January 4, 2023, Justice Abdul Nazeer retired.
In February 17, Justice Abdul Nazeer was being elevated to the Supreme Court from the Karnataka High Court. In the Supreme Court, Justice Abdul Nazeer was a part of prominent judgments in the KS Puttaswamy case (which held right to privacy a fundamental right), triple talaq case (dissented to hold the practice as valid), Ayodhya-Babri Masjid dispute(being the part of the unanimous verdict allowing construction of Ram Mandir at the disputed place), the demolition case(led the Constitution Bench wherein the bench upheld the note-ban decision as valid). Justice Abdul Nazeer also led the Constitution Bench which held that additional restrictions not found in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India cannot be imposed on the right to free speech of ministers and legislators.
Therefore, the last instance where a Supreme Court judge being appointed as a Governor was the appointment of former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam as the Governor of Kerala in 2014. The Former Supreme Court judge Justice Fatima Beevi was the Governor of Tamil Nadu during 1997-2001, after her retirement in 1992, as the judge of the Supreme Court.