Gurcharan is a retired judge of the Citizenship Court of Canada, a former Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and the founder member of CCS who served on the Board as its first president.

In 1997, Judge Bhatia received Order of Canada and in 1999 he received a Citation Award from the City of Edmonton for his contribution to multiculturalism and community service.

A veteran advocate for civil rights and multiculturalism in Canada, Judge Bhatia spent 10 long years as the founder, editor and publisher of the national multicultural newspaper, Canadian Link.