Kalpana Hasmukhrai Rawal (born 15 January 1946 in Bhuj, India) is a Kenyan-Asian lawyer and the former Deputy Chief Justice and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
When she started her private practice, K H Rawal Advocates, the offices were located at Imenti House and she worked from there until 1999 when she was appointed Commissioner of Assize.
A year later, the mother of two sons was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Kenya, and she consequently stopped working at her law firm which is still operational.
During her tenure, she reformed each of the divisions in which she was appointed – Civil, Criminal, Family, Environmental and Land Law – by reducing severe backlog and improving the expeditious disposal of cases.
In April, 2010, Rawal was appointed the Liaison Judge for Kenya making her a member of the International Hague Network of Judges and the Chief Justice also appointed her to assist the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take evidence of security officers in respect of the investigation into 2007/2008 Post Election Violence.
In 2011, while still at the High Court, she delivered a judgment against the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, barring it from confiscating assets of Stanley Amuti, former National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation finance boss, to recover Sh140 million.
Opportunity came knocking on February 22, 2013 when the Judicial Service Commission nominated her for the position of Deputy Chief Justice.
During her 40 years as a legal professional, Rawal played a big role and paved the way for many women in the justice system[according to whom?]
In September 2012, the Kenya Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board in its fourth Determination declared Rawal fit for office.
[2] It had earlier delayed its decision as she was among judges hearing a national interest case to determine on the date of the next Kenyan general elections.
[7] Following the resignation of Nancy Barasa, Rawal applied for the vacant position of Deputy Chief Justice advertised by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on 9 November 2012.
[9] On 22 February 2013, the JSC announced that after completing the interviews it had nominated Court of Appeal Judge Kalpana Rawal.