IN the grand, wood-panelled courtrooms of the Old Bailey, where the weight of history hangs heavy in the air, Mrs Justice Dame Bobbie Cheema-Grubb has carved out a reputation as one of the most formidable legal minds in the UK.
The first Asian woman to be appointed to the High Court of England and Wales – a title that carries immense responsibility and influence – her journey to the bench is more than a tale of professional triumph; it is a narrative of resilience, conviction, and an unyielding commitment to justice.
Born into a working-class Sikh family in Leeds, Cheema-Grubb’s early life was far removed from the grand halls of justice. Her parents, who had emigrated from Punjab, India, worked tirelessly to provide for their family. Her father toiled in a foundry, while her mother worked as a seamstress. The concept of becoming a lawyer was, as she once quipped, “as far away from them as the moon.”
Yet, even as a child, she harboured a fierce ambition – of becoming an astronaut. Though her teachers encouraged her, they gently tempered her aspirations, pointing out the slim odds of joining NASA!
Her first brush with the legal system came unexpectedly. As a teenager, she was sent to a local law centre for community service, tasked with translating for Asian clients. There, she witnessed firsthand how the law could resolve real problems – unfair dismissals, exploitative landlords, wrongful school expulsions. The experience was transformative. She realised that law was not just an abstract profession for the elite, but a powerful tool for those in need.
“I was amazed,” she later said. “I saw how law could solve problems for people – real problems that mattered.”
Cheema-Grubb’s early career was anything but easy. After studying law at King’s College London and being called to the Bar in 1989, she entered a world where female, working-class, and ethnically diverse barristers were rare. The unspoken rules of privilege and pedigree meant that doors did not open as easily for someone like her.
One of her career-defining moments came in the early 2000s when she was instructed as junior counsel in an intellectual property fraud case. Weeks before trial, her senior withdrew, leaving her to lead an eight-month-long case against silk-clad barristers on the opposing side. She accepted the challenge without hesitation. “I thought about it for a split second,” she recalled, “and then I said, yes, of course, I’ll do it.” The case not only elevated her profile but reinforced her belief that courage, not just competence, was necessary to push past invisible barriers.
In 2006, Cheema-Grubb made history as the first Asian woman to be appointed as a junior treasury counsel, a role that placed her at the forefront of prosecuting some of the most serious
criminal cases in the country. From high-profile murder trials to complex terrorism cases, she quickly established herself as a formidable advocate.
“It was a thrilling team to be part of,” she has reminisced. “Standing in court number one at the Old Bailey, getting ready to open a murder trial in which the press and the public are rightly interested, has to be one of the most exciting things to do on this planet.”
Her work on cases involving honour crimes and her role in prosecuting the first case under the amended Public Order Act, which criminalised incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, showcased her ability to navigate sensitive and high-stakes legal terrain.
Her ascent continued in 2013 when she was appointed Queen’s Counsel, a moment she described as one of her proudest. Since her High Court appointment in 2015, Cheema-Grubb has built a reputation as a judge of remarkable clarity and fairness. Her sentencing remarks often cut through legal jargon to deliver powerful messages.
In April 2024, she presided over the trial of a gang who conspired to kill a teenager in a drive-thru on Chester Road, Castle Bromwich. In addressing the young defendants, she did not merely hand down punishment; she issued a stark warning about the realities of knife crime: “The false teachers who say you should carry knives are not in the dock now, you are.”
Just weeks later, in another high-profile case, she sentenced Ahmed Alid, a terrorist who murdered a pensioner in revenge for Gaza. With measured force, she told him: “You attacked and murdered Terence Carney in a terrorist act… to intimidate and influence the British government in its international relations.” Her sentencing – life with a minimum term of 45 years – was among the longest for such crimes, underscoring her commitment to protecting public safety while reinforcing the rule of law.
Earlier, she was the presiding judge in the Finsbury Park terrorist attack case, and while delivering the judgment, she remarked: “We must respond to evil with good,” highlighting the intervention of the imam who prevented the crowd from attacking the perpetrator, to let justice take its course. “His response should be everyone’s response,” she implored.
Beyond her court rulings, Cheema-Grubb has emerged as a powerful advocate for mental health and fairness within the criminal justice system. During her tenure as the presiding judge of the South-Eastern Circuit, she played a pivotal role in implementing the Mental Health Liaison and Diversion scheme across London’s Crown Courts. This initiative, which provides mental health support to defendants and facilitates smoother case progression, has been widely praised for its effectiveness.
Despite the professional success, Cheema-Grubb’s personal journey has not been without struggle. Her conversion to Christianity as a teenager strained relations with her Sikh family. When she married her husband, Russell – a Christian artist – they became estranged.
But time, and achievement, have a way of mending wounds. Decades later, her mother stood in the Old Bailey, gazing at a portrait of her daughter that now hangs there, a symbol of respect and honour. “I could see that she was very moved by seeing it,” she has said.
In July 2023, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by The City Law School in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field. She takes special interest in promoting women who work in the criminal justice sector. She was instrumental in designing the mentoring scheme run by Women in Criminal Law.
She once described herself as “just a failed astronaut.” And yet, in the legal cosmos, she has reached the stars.
