Capacity: Advocate
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Indian
Date of Birth: November 1959
Qualifications: MBChB (1983) (UCT), LLB (2004) (UNISA)
Key Appearances & Judgments:
- Health Professions Council of South Africa Disciplinary Inquiry into Dr. T Noakes [2017]
- Minister of Human Settlements, Western Cape Government v Bamba and Others (619/2015) [2015] ZAWCHC 164 (29 October 2015)
- Surrogacy Advisory Group NPC v Minister of Health (038988/2022) [2024] ZAGPPHC 431 (7 May 2024)
- Richards and Others v Rabie and Others (11872/2022) [2024] ZAWCHC 408; [2025] 1 All SA 487 (WCC) (2 December 2024)
- V.R v Director General of Home Affairs and Others (12111/24) [2025] ZAWCHC 69; [2025] 2 All SA 927 (WCC) (19 February 2025)
- B v Brand and Another (13157/2024) [2024] ZAWCHC 280; [2025] 1 All SA 102 (WCC) (26 September 2024)
- Raubex Building (Pty) Ltd v Bitou Municipality and Another (13787/2024) [2024] ZAWCHC 378; [2025] 1 All SA 472 (WCC) (19 November 2024)
Candidate Biography | Updated March 2026:
Advocate Ajay Bhoopchand is a practising Senior Counsel and Member of the Cape Bar.
Adv Bhoopchand was born in Isipingo, KwaZulu-Natal. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Cape Town and an LLB from the University of South Africa. Before entering the legal profession, Adv Bhoopchand had a distinguished career in medicine, serving as a medical intern at Groote Schuur Hospital, a Senior House Officer at Baragwanath Hospital, and a surgical registrar in cardio-thoracic surgery. He later practiced as a general practitioner in Mitchells Plain for fifteen years. Adv Bhoopchand was admitted as an advocate in November 2002 and was conferred Senior Counsel status (Silk) in July 2019.
As an advocate, he has appeared in the Western Cape Division, North Gauteng High Court, Kimberley High Court, the Land Claims Court, Southern Divorce Court, Magistrates Court, and Durban High Court. Adv Bhoopchand has also served as an Acting Judge in the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town in different tenures from October 2023 to December 2025.
Adv Bhoopchand’s practice prior to taking Senior Counsel status in 2019 specialised in personal injury and medical negligence matters. His notable appearances include representing the pro forma complainant in the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) medical disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of Professor Tim Noakes. The complainant in this case was found not guilty on the charge of unprofessional misconduct by the HPCSA. In Minister of Human Settlements, Western Cape Government v Bamba and Others, Adv Bhoopchand served as counsel for the applicant and assisted in resolving a complex title deed dispute involving forty-three property owners in the Philippi township. Bhoopchand advised the court to allow the property owners to keep their original title deeds and renumber the erven on the general township plan, a solution that the court ultimately accepted.
After attaining Senior Counsel status in 2019, Adv Bhoopchand has appeared in matters outside of personal injury and medical negligence, including contract law, education and security work, labour law, eviction cases, estate law, property law, and local government law. Adv Bhoopchand represented the Minister of Health in constitutional challenges regarding the Children’s Act and surrogacy regulations in Surrogacy Advisory Group NPC v Minister of Health. This case was related to how surrogacy laws interact between the Children’s Act and the National Health Act, and the Regulations relating to the Artificial Fertilisation of Persons.
During his tenure as an Acting Judge in the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town (October 2023 – October 2024; November 2024 – December 2025), Adv Bhoopchand adjudicated both criminal cases and appeals, and civil cases. In Richards and Others v Rabie and Others, he presided over a dispute regarding the administration of a church and urged religious leadership to adhere to the founding constitutional principles of democracy.
Outside of his judicial and legal duties, Adv Bhoopchand has a long history of student activism, having served as a leader in the Committee of 81 during the 1980 student protests. He has contributed significantly to transformation at the Bar, serving as the Chairperson of Advocates for Transformation (Western Cape) in 2009 and as a member of the Cape Bar’s Transformation Committee. He has also served as a presiding officer for appeal panels under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act and as a member of disciplinary panels for the Legal Practice Council. When he has any spare time, Adv Bhoopchand is an avid birdwatcher.
Set to turn 67 this year, it will be interesting to see whether this will work against his otherwise very impressive career when he is before the JSC.
April 2026 JSC Interview
After deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission decided not to recommend Adv Ajay Bhoopchand SC for appointment to the Western Cape High Court.