Avinash Deobhakta

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.

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.

[1] Settling in Auckland, Deobhakta practised as a barrister sole until his appointment as a District Court judge in 1982.