We are pleased to host Justice Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob, Retired Judge, Constitutional Court of South Africa, and Mrs. Anuradha Yacoob from January 5-11, 2026. Justice Yacoob served as a Judge in the Constitutional Court from 1998-2013, earning distinction as one of the Court’s most principled voices on equality, human dignity and social justice. Visually impaired from childhood, he stands as a powerful testament to intellectual resilience and moral courage. He played a direct role in shaping South Africa’s constitutional future and was an active participant in the anti-apartheid struggle.

During his stay at NLS, he will be interacting with various members of the NLS community through the following events:

Schedule

January 6, 2026 | 11.10 am – 1 pm
OAB 101

Session with LLM Students (Open to the NLS community only)
Comparative Public Law and Governance
Instructor: NLS faculty Mr. Sidharth Chauhan.

Justice Yacoob will address the postgraduate students about his experiences on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, with a special emphasis on how they engaged with foreign legal materials in their reasoning and decision-making.

January 6, 2026 | 6 pm – 7.30 pm
Bangalore International Centre (BIC), Domlur

Public Meeting – An informal interaction between Justice Yacoob and city-based lawyers, researchers and students. Organised by the Centre for Law and Policy Research. (Open to the public)  

January 7, 2026 | 2-3.30 pm
Conference room, Training Centre (TC)

Interaction with NLSIU faculty members across law, social sciences and public policy clusters. (Open to NLS faculty only)  

January 8, 2026 | 9 am to 10.50 am
OAB 201, Krishnappa Hall

Session with 3rd year BA LLB (Hons) Students (Open to the NLS community only)
Human Rights Law and Practice Course
Instructors: NLS faculty Dr. Sanjay Jain, Dr. Siddharth Narrain and Mr. Arvind Narrain.

Abstract

Justice Yacoob delivered the landmark Government of South Africa v Grootboom decision, in which the Court laid down that policy on housing can be tested for its constitutionality based on whether it conformed to the requirement of having taken ‘reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.’

Based on this, the Court struck down the housing policy of the Cape Metropolitan Council on the ground that failed to make & ‘reasonable provision’ for those with ‘no access to land, no roof over their heads and who were living in intolerable conditions or crisis situations.’

What happened at the ground level post the delivery of the judgment? How can we evaluate the status of the right to housing in South African twenty-five years after Grootboom? How does the trajectory in South African with its constitutionally guaranteed right to housing compare with India where there is no such recognition? To facilitate a point of comparison, Dr. Sanjay Jain will discuss the judgment of Justice Murlidhar in Ajay Maken v Union of India (2019) to facilitate a comparison.

January 10, 2026

Off-campus visits and interactions with interested faculty, students and research staff.

For more information on these sessions, please write to