London:
Kalyani Kaul, a prominent barrister of Indian-origin who has handled high-profile cases in the UK, has been appointed a Recorder by Queen Elizabeth and will soon preside over hearings in county courts.
Kalyani, 49, who was the third highest paid barrister in terms of legal aid payments in 2005, has been practising law in Britain for the last 26 years. She studied Law from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Major cases handled by her include Government of Rwanda vs Munyaneza, an extradition case against the Government of Rwanda earlier this year relating to charges of genocide.
Kalyani, who specialises in serious crime has also handled the case relating to the Chohan murders in 2005, when five members of the same family were kidnapped and murdered. It was the longest murder trial at the Old Bailey, and went on for nearly 9 months.
Kalyani, is the daughter of well-known British journalists Mahendra Kaul and Rajni Kaul, both of whom worked for long years with the Voice of America (VoA) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Mahendra Kaul was the first Asian to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975. The post of Recorder is a fee paid post and there is no minimum sitting requirement. As a Recorder, Kalyani will prepare cases for trial and preside over hearings in county courts.
The order confirming Kalyani's appointment have been signed by Queen Elizabeth. A Recorder is also considered for authorisation to sit as Deputy High Court Judges in the Chancery and Queen's Bench Divisions of the High Court and sit in the Royal Courts of Justice or county courts (specialist civil jurisdiction).
Kalyani also represented Bachan Kaur Athwal, the oldest woman to be tried for murder in the UK, relating to an 'honour killing' in which she (aged 70) was supposed to have taken her daughter in law to the Punjab and had her murdered.
In another case, she represented Anthony Sawoniuk in relation to his trial for Second World War Crimes (multiple murders), tried in the UK in 1999 in relation to offences in Belarus in 1942. That was the first case in which a British Jury was flown abroad to see the scene of the alleged crimes.
Kalyani also specialises in the prosecution of cases involving the sexual abuse of children and sexual offences generally.
Kalyani is the vice-president of the Association of Women Barristers.