Bobbie Cheema-Grubb


Dame Parmjit Kaur "Bobbie" Cheema-Grubb DBE, styled The Hon. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, is a judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. She is the first Asian woman to serve as a High Court judge in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Cheema was born to Indian Sikh Punjabi parents who came to the United Kingdom from India in the 1960s. She grew up in Leeds, and attended City of Leeds School before studying law at King's College London.

Legal career

Cheema-Grubb was called to the bar in 1989. In 2006, she became the first Asian woman to be appointed a Junior Treasury Counsel. In 2007, she became a recorder.
In 2013, she was appointed Queen's Counsel. She served as a Senior Treasury Counsel and was authorised to sit as a deputy High Court judge. She chaired an Advocacy Training Council working group that produced the report "Raising the Bar: The Handling of Vulnerable Witnesses, Victims and Defendants in Court".
Cheema-Grubb successfully acted for the prosecution against retired Church of England bishop Peter Ball for sexual abuse and against barrister and recorder Constance Briscoe for perverting the course of justice.

Judiciary

On 22 October 2015, Cheema-Grubb's appointment as a High Court judge was announced. She was sworn in on 25 November 2015.

Personal life

In 1990, she married Russell Grubb and they have three children. She is a practising Christian.