Ajit Singh, Bains comes from a patriotic family of Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district. He began his career as a lecturer in Economics. During these years he actively participated in the defence of the people's rights, a feature that has characterized his life.
After teaching for three years, he opened a legal practice in Hoshiarpur in 1954, shifting to the High Court in 1961. Justice Bains was elected to the Punjab Bar Council in 1964, and was appointed Deputy Advocate General by the Punjab government. He became chairman of the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council in 1972 and judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1974 until his retirement in 1984. The Punjab government appointed Justice Bains to head the Bains Committee in October 1985, with the mandate to review cases of persons under trial and investigation in connection with the political agitation between 1981 and 1985. He was also appointed a member of the Punjab Jail Reform Committee - a position he later resigned in protest against the entry of paramilitary forces into the Golden Temple on April 30, 1986.
Justice Bains, who is also chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, travelled far and wide in North America and Europe in 1987 and 1988, lecturing on the situation in Punjab and the violation of human rights there. He has given talks in numerous uni- versities, professional and community organizations. He has met with legislators of yar lous countries, the Internation al Commission of Jurists and news reporters to give his views on the situation in India.