Senate confirms Indian-American Sanket Jayshukh Bulsara as district judge

Bulsara is a Harvard Law School graduate who earlier served as magistrate judge in New York.

Senator Charles Schumer (R) called Sanket Jayshukh Bulsara a first-rate legal mind and a dedicated, talented public servant, who had served as a history-making magistrate judge in the Eastern District of New York since 2017. / Courtesy Photos

New York Senator Charles Schumer has announced the confirmation of Indian-American Sanket Jayshukh Bulsara to serve as a district judge for the Eastern District of New York.

Bulsara's name was forwarded by Schumer for the district judge role to the Joe Biden administration in February 2024 following which the President put forth the nomination himself. Schumer has now confirmed that Bulsara, who earlier served as a magistrate judge, will be promoted.

"Bulsara is a first-rate legal mind and a dedicated, talented public servant, who has served as a history-making Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of New York since 2017. Judge Bulsara, the very first Indian-American to serve as a judge on that court, was General Counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission where he worked to protect investors and the country’s financial markets,” US Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said in a statement on May.17.

“He is an expert in securities, contract, bankruptcy, and regulatory matters, but his experience also extends to representing incarcerated individuals, victims of domestic violence, and individuals on death row in pro bono cases.”

Bulsara graduated with a JD from Harvard Law School with honors (cum laude), and obtained an A.B. from Harvard College with high honors (magna cum laude).

He was born in the Bronx to an Indian immigrant before relocating to New Rochelle and subsequently to Edgemont, New York. His parents immigrated over 50 years ago, with his father employed as an engineer for the City of New York and his mother working as a nurse.

“Bulsara is the epitome of the American Dream and a history maker: the child of hard-working immigrants from both India and Kenya, and the first South Asian American federal judge to serve on any court in the Second Circuit when he was appointed as a Magistrate Judge. I proudly recommended Judge Bulsara to President Biden and championed his nomination. I am confident he will bring remarkable legal talent and experience, as well as integrity and professionalism, to the district court. He will follow the law where it takes him, in the pursuit of fair and impartial justice,” Schumer said in the statement.

Before taking on the role of judge, Bulsara served as the Acting General Counsel of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additionally, he held the role of Deputy General Counsel for appellate litigation, adjudication, and enforcement at the SEC.

"Judge Bulsara has a broad range of experiences, from clerking for Hon. John G. Koeltl on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, to serve as Acting General Counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission and developing a broad-based, trial-centered practice, and to his current service as a Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District. This vast range of invaluable experiences will serve him well as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York," Schumer added.