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Tag: Chief Justice of India

  • CJI N V Ramana to administer oath of office to nine new SC judges on August 31

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Nine new judges, including three women, would be administered oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana on Tuesday.

    It is for the first time in the history of the apex court when nine judges would be taking oath of office at one go and the swearing-in ceremony would be held in the auditorium of the Supreme Court’s additional building complex.

    Traditionally, the oath of office to new judges is administered in the CJI’s courtroom.

    With the swearing-in of the nine new judges on Tuesday, the strength of the Supreme Court would rise to 33, including the CJI, out of the sanctioned strength of 34.

    In another first, the venue of the ceremony is shifted to the auditorium.

    The shifting of the venue of the ceremony is done keeping in view the need for strict adherence to COVID norms,” said a press release issued by the apex court’s public relations office.

    It said the swearing-in ceremony would be telecast live on DD News, DD India and a live webcast would also be available on the home page of the official web portal of the Supreme Court.

    The nine new judges who would be administered the oath of office as apex court judges includes — Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka (who was the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court), Justice Vikram Nath (who was the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court), Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari (who was the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court), Justice Hima Kohli (who was the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court) and Justice B V Nagarathna (who was a judge of the Karnataka High Court).

    Besides them, Justice C T Ravikumar (who was a judge of the Kerala High Court), Justice M M Sundresh (who was a judge of the Madras High Court), Justice Bela M Trivedi (who was a judge of the Gujarat High Court) and P S Narasimha (who was a senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General) would also be administered the oath of office by the CJI.

    Justice Nagarathna is in line to become the first woman CJI in September 2027.

    Justice Nagarathna, born on October 30, 1962, is the daughter of former CJI E S Venkataramiah.

    Three out of these nine new judges – Justices Nath and Nagarathna and Narasimha are in line to become the CJI.

    Justice Nath is in line to become the CJI upon the retirement of sitting apex court judge Justice Surya Kant in February 2027.

    Justice Nath would be succeeded by Justice Nagarathna, who would have a tenure of over a month as the head of the judiciary.

    Narasimha would succeed Justice Nagarathna as the CJI and would have a tenure of over six months.

    The apex court Collegium had on August 17 recommended these nine names for appointment as judges of the top court.

    Later, President Ram Nath Kovind had signed the warrants of their appointment as apex court judges.

    The top court, which came into being on January 26, 1950, has seen very few women judges since its inception and in the last over 71 years has appointed only eight lady judges starting from M Fathima Beevi in 1989.

    Presently, Justice Indira Banerjee is the lone serving woman judge in the apex court after her elevation on August 7, 2018, from the Madras High Court where she was serving as the Chief Justice.

    While high court judges retire at the age of 62, the retirement age of Supreme Court judges is 65.

    The recommendation of these nine names by the five-member collegium headed by CJI Ramana at its meeting on August 17 had put an end to the 21-month-long logjam over the appointment of new judges to the top court.

    The impasse over the appointment had led to a situation in which not a single name for the judgeship in the apex court could be recommended after the superannuation of then CJI Ranjan Gogoi on November 17, 2019.

  • Collegium recommends nine names, including three women, for appointment as SC judges

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday officially announced that its collegium has recommended to the Centre nine names, including three women high court judges, for appointing them as judges of the apex court, hours after Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana publicly said he is “very upset” over some media reports on its deliberations on their selection.

    The recommendation by the Supreme Court’s five-member collegium headed by Justice Ramana at its meeting on Tuesday puts an end to the 21-month-long logjam over appointment of new judges to the apex court.

    The recommendations have to be cleared by the Centre.

    Justice B V Nagarathna, if cleared by the Centre, would become the first woman CJI in 2027.

    She is currently a judge of the Karnataka High Court.

    The impasse over the appointment has led to a situation in which not a single name for the judgeship in the apex court could be recommended after the superannuation of the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi on November 17, 2019.

    With the retirement of Justice Navin Sinha on Wednesday, the strength of judges in the top court has come down to 24 as against the sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI.

    The recommendations, if accepted, will fill nine vacancies taking the working strength to 33.

    The vacancy created due to the superannuation of Justice Sinha would remain for the time being.

    Justice Ramana, who chaired the crucial meetng of the collegium to recommend names of nine persons for the judgeship on August 17, said he was “extremely upset” about reports in the media regarding appointment of judges’ in the Supreme Court, adding career progression of bright talents has been marred earlier by “irresponsible reporting”.

    The process of appointment of judges is “sacrosanct” and the media must recognise its sanctity, the CJI said while heading the ceremonial bench to bid farewell to Justice Navin Sinha, and termed as “very unfortunate” certain speculative news reports about the Collegium meeting.

    The CJI said today’s reflections in some sections of the media pending the process even before formalising the resolution is counter-productive.

    The head of the judiciary was referring to media reports which said the Collegium, headed by the CJI, is understood to have recommended nine names for appointment as judges in the top court.

    The Collegium at its meeting held on August 17, has recommended names of four chief justices of different high courts for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court, the top court said in a statement.

    The four chief justices of different high courts are — Justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka (Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court), Vikram Nath (Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court), Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari (Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court) and Justice Hima Kohli (Chief Justice of Telangana High Court).

    Besides them and Justice Nagarathna, the names of Justice C T Ravikumar of the Kerala High Court, Justice M M Sundresh of the Madras High Court, Justice Bela Trivedi from the Gujarat High Court and senior advocate P S Narasimha have been recommended by the Collegium, the statement said.

    Narasimha, whose name if cleared, would become the sixth lawyer to be elevated to the apex court bench directly from the Bar.

    He was appointed Additional Solicitor General in 2014 and resigned from the post in 2018.

    The five-member Collegium also comprises Justices U U Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao.

    Justice A S Oka, the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court who is originally from Maharashtra, is the senior-most high court judge whose name has been recommended by the collegium.

    However, Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi, the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court and whose parent cadre was Gujarat, has not found a place in the present list.

    It has been reported in the media earlier that there was some tussle over his name in the past deliberations of the Collegium.

    Justice Oka, born on May 25, 1960, was enrolled as an advocate on June 28, 1983, and was elevated as the Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in August, 2003.

    He became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka on May 10, 2019.

    Justice Maheshwari, who was earlier the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, was transferred to Sikkim High Court in December last year by the collegium headed by the then CJI S A Bobde after Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy made a complaint about some judges of that high court.

    Justice Nath became a judge of the Allahabad High Court on September 24, 2004 and is presently working as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.

    Born on September 2, 1959 in Delhi, Justice Kohli was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court on May 29, 2006 and took oath as a permanent Judge on August 29, 2007, She later became the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on January 7, 2021.

    Justice Nagarathna, born on October 30, 1962, is the daughter of former CJI E S Venkataramiah.

    She was enrolled as an advocate on October 28, 1987 at Bangalore and practiced in the field pertaining to “constitution, commerce, insurance and service etc.”

    She was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on February 18, 2008 and became a permanent Judge on February 17, 2010.

    Justice Trivedi, born on June 10, 1960, is the judge of the Gujarat High Court since February 9, 2016.

    Justice Sundresh was appointed as an Additional Judge of Madras High Court on March 31, 2009 and made a permanent Judge of Madras High Court on March 29, 2011.

    Justice Ravikumar was sworn-in as Additional Judge of Kerala High Court on January 5, 2009 and became a Permanent Judge on December 15, 2010.

    At the open court, CJI Ramana lauded the “tremendous amount of maturity and responsibility” displayed by majority of senior journalists and media houses in showing restraint and not speculating on such a serious matter.

    “Such professional journalists and ethical media are the real strength of the Supreme Court in particular and democracy in general. You are part of our system. I expect all the stakeholders to uphold the integrity and dignity of this institution.”

    As an institution, the apex court holds the freedom of media and the rights of individuals in high esteem, he said.

    “On this occasion I want to take the liberty to express my concern about certain speculations and reports in the media. You are all aware we need to appoint judges to this court. The process is ongoing. Meetings will be held and decisions will be taken.”

    “The process of appointment of judges is sacrosanct and has certain dignity attached to it. My media friends must understand and recognise the sanctity of this process,” CJI Ramana said.

  • Speculations, reports in media on judges’ appointment process very unfortunate: CJI NV Ramana

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Wednesday termed “very unfortunate” certain “speculations and reports” in the media about Collegium meeting regarding appointment of judges’ in the Supreme Court.

    CJI Ramana, while speaking in the ceremonial function to bid farewell to Justice Navin Sinha who is retiring, said the process of appointment of judges is sacrosanct and has dignity attached to it and the media must understand and recognise its sanctity.

    ALSO READ| ‘Sorry state of affairs’: CJI N V Ramana on lack of debate in Parliament

    “On this occasion I want to take the liberty to express my concern about certain speculations and reports in the media. You are all aware we need to appoint judges to this court. The process is ongoing. Meetings will be held and decisions will be taken. The process of appointment of judges is sacrosanct and has certain dignity attached to it. My media friends must understand and recognise the sanctity of this process,” he said.

    The CJI said that as an institution, the apex court holds the freedom of media and the rights of individuals in high esteem and today’s reflections in some sections of the media, pending the process, even before formalising the resolution is counter-productive.

    “There were instances of deserving career progression of bright talents getting marred because of such irresponsible reporting and speculation. This is very unfortunate and I am extremely upset about it,” he said.

    The CJI also lauded the “tremendous amount of maturity and responsibility” displayed by majority of senior journalists and media houses in showing restraint and not speculating on such a serious matter.

    “Such professional journalists and ethical media are the real strength of the Supreme Court in particular and democracy in general. You are part of our system. I expect all the stakeholders to uphold the integrity and dignity of this institution,” he said.

    The head of the judiciary was referring to media reports which said the Collegium, headed by the CJI, is understood to have recommended nine names for appointment as judges in the top court.

  • Justice NV Ramana sworn in as 48th Chief Justice of India

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana was on Saturday sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India and will hold the post for sixteen months till August 26, 2022.He is taking charge amid a health emergency in the country prompted by a surge in Covid cases. His predecessor and former CJI S A Bobde had taken suo-moto cognizance of the issue of oxygen supply shortage, but could not take any major actions. He had slated a hearing for April 27.

    Soon after being sworn-in, Ramana held a consultation with six senior judges of the court to review functioning in view of present Covid-19 situation. Further, Ramana’s tenure is expected to see the filing up of more vacancies for judges at both the Supreme Court as well at the High Courts.Apart from, CJI Ramana, the new collegium would comprise four justices- R F Nariman, U U Lalit, A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.

    President Ramnath Kovind administers the oathof office to Justice N V Ramana at theRashtrapathi Bhavan on Saturday | PTIThe inclusion of more women judges in the higher reaches of the judiciary, a goal laid down by former CJI S A Bobde, now falls on the shoulders of Ramana.The name of Senior Judge B V Nagarathna from the Karnataka High Court is doing the rounds. If elevated now, she will be in line to become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027, for a period of eight months.

    Similarly, Chief Justice of Telangana High Court Justice Hima Kohli’s is also being considered for elevation. If appointed now,  her tenure will run till 2024, or else she will retire in September this year. Though these names have been discussed many times in the collegium meetings, no consensus has been reached. So, all eyes will now be on CJI Ramana who is expected to break the ice and give India its first women Chief Justice, several years after independence.

  • Justice NV Ramana sworn in as 48th CJI

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana was sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India by President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday.

    Justice Ramana took the oath at a brief ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

    Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were among those present at the ceremony.

    Justice Ramana took the oath in English in the name of God.

  • I leave with the satisfaction that I did my best: Outgoing Chief Justice of India SA Bobde

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde Friday said he was leaving the Supreme Court with “happiness, goodwill and very fond memories” and the satisfaction of having done his best.

    Justice Bobde, who decided several key cases during his tenure including the historic Ayodhya verdict, was administered oath as the 47th CJI in November 2019 and is retiring today.

    He headed the Indian judiciary during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic ensuring that the apex court kept functioning albeit via video conferencing.

    “I must say that last day has evoked mixed feelings which is difficult to describe. I have been a part of the ceremonial bench before but did not feel such mixed feelings which could enable me to say things clearly.

    “I leave this court with happiness, goodwill with very fond memories of wonderful arguments, excellent presentation, good behaviour, commitment to the cause of justice from not only Bar but all connected with it,” Bobde, who was speaking on his last in the apex court, said.

    Bobde said he was demitting office after 21 years as judge and it has been his richest experience in the top court and the camaraderie with brother judges has been wonderful.

    Contending that transition to the virtual mode during coronavirus pandemic would not have been possible without the registry, Bobde said that there are many unsatisfactory things about virtual hearings which can be ironed out.

    “Advantage was that hearings were homely as I could see hills behind lawyers, sculptures and paintings behind lawyers including guns and pistols. The painting behind SG Mehta has been removed now,” he said.

    “I leave with the satisfaction that I did my best. I hand over the baton to Justice N V Ramana (48th CJI) who will I am sure will very ably lead the court,” Bobde said.

    Attorney General K K Venugopal said the tenure of a CJI must be a minimum of three years.

    “In March 2020 the world was suffering from COVID-19. Supreme Court also had to take a call and bar thought court will close down.

    “But then CJI Bobde rose to the occasion and started virtual hearing and almost 50,000 cases have been disposed of. It’s a great achievement,” Venugopal said, adding that bar should unanimously applaud the CJI for the work he has done.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said CJI Bobde will not only be known as a erudite and brilliant judge but also a loving and caring human being with amazing sense of humour.

    Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Vikas Singh said this is no age (65) to retire and a Constitutional amendment should be brought to increase the retirement age of judges.

    “You had taken up such a contentious matter (pertaining to COVID-19) on the last day too. This shows the involvement of the judges and to ensure oxygen supply can be maintained. Till the last day you were concerned about what is happening,” Singh said.

    Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association president Shivaji Jadhav said, “We acknowledge the smoothness with which the CJI created a transmission from physical to virtual courts. CJI Bobde will be remembered for his handling of the criminal justice system.”

    He also urged that after the summer vacation the apex court should consider opening the courts for physical hearing with due precautions.

    Born on April 24, 1956 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Justice Bobde completed Bachelor of Arts and LLB degrees from Nagpur University. He was enrolled as an advocate of the Bar Council of Maharashtra in 1978.

    Justice Bobde practised law at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court with appearances at Bombay before the Principal Seat and before the Supreme Court for over 21 years. He was designated as senior advocate in 1998.

    Justice Bobde was elevated to the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000, as Additional Judge and sworn in as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on October 16, 2012. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on April 12, 2013.

  • Courtrooms to shrink in future thanks to technology, says CJI Bobde

    By PTI
    PANAJI: Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Saturday said that courtrooms and court complexes would become smaller in future due to technological interventions.

    He also said that although the coronavirus pandemic has posed challenges in access to justice, it has paved the way for modernising courtrooms.

    The CJI was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a new building for the Goa Bench of Bombay High Court at Porvorim near here.

    Union Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and others were also present on the occasion.

    “I see a trend of having smaller courtrooms in the future because of Ravi Shankar Prasad’s ministry. The e-filing and data which can be contained is going to take away the need for many storage rooms and many rooms which are necessary for storing papers. The SC has done its bit on issues of court infrastructure. It has devised benchmarks and frameworks for minimum standards,” he said in his speech.

    The CJI said that the discussion on infrastructure has largely been on the quantitative part, that is on building more courtrooms.

    “Though building more courtrooms is necessary and important, there was very little emphasis on modernising the existing courtrooms. Though the pandemic has posed a lot of problems to access to justice, it has paved the way for modernising the courtroom,” he said.

    The CJI also stressed the need to have a new building for the Bombay High Court in Mumbai.

    “Bombay (High Court) also needs a new building. The Bombay building was constructed for seven judges. It is now housing more than 40. It is impossible,” he said.

    On the judiciary in Goa, an erstwhile Portuguese colony, the CJI said that thelegacy of justice in Goa spans more than four-and-a-half centuries.

    “I am including the period before the liberation contrary to many other areas. Even though it was not part of Indian union, there was well-established system of administration or justice,” the CJP said.

    The CJI had also presided over as a judge on the Goa bench of the high court before being promoted to the apex court.

    “I am the only judge or one of thee few judges who sat so often at Goa. I heard remarks that Justice Bobde is a Goa judge. I am happy when I am described like this because that’s when I admired Goa, its culture, natural habitat, its music and even football,” he said.

  • Centre asks Chief Justice of India SA Bobde to recommend his successor

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: With a little over a month left before Chief Justice of India SA Bobde retires, the government has started the process of appointment of next CJI, asking the incumbent to recommend his successor, sources said Saturday.

    Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Friday sent a letter to Justice Bobde, who is set to retire on April 23, seeking his recommendation, the sources said.

    As per the Memorandum of Procedure governing the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, “appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office”.

    It stipulates that the Law Minister would, at an appropriate time, seek the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice of India for the appointment of the next CJI.

    Under this process, after receipt of the recommendation of the CJI, the Law Minister puts it before the Prime Minister who advises the President in the matter of appointment.

    “Whenever there is any doubt about the fitness of the senior-most Judge to hold the office of the Chief Justice of India, consultation with other Judges. Would be made for appointment of the next Chief Justice of India,” the document states.

    Justice NV Ramana is the senior-most judge in the top court after the CJI.

    Born on August 27, 1957, justice Ramana has a tenure till August 26, 2022.

  • Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi provided ‘Z+’ VIP security cover

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre has accorded the top category ‘Z+’ VIP security cover to former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, official sources said on Friday.

    They said that 66-year-old Gogoi will be protected by armed commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) during his travel all across the country. A Rajya Sabha member now, Gogoi was earlier being provided with a security cover of the Delhi Police.

    He retired in November, 2019 and was later nominated to the upper house of Parliament by the government. Sources said that the CRPF has a VIP security unit and Gogoi is its 63rd protectee. They said an armed mobile team of 8-12 CRPF commandos will be securing the former CJI during travel while his house will be guarded by a similar team.

  • CJI Bobde fumes at aspersions being cast on farm law committee members

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Taking strong exception to the aspersions cast on the four-member committee set up the Supreme Court to resolve the stalemate over the agri laws, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on Wednesday said no one had a right to malign people’s reputation. 

    The remarks came during the hearing of a plea filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat seeking reconstitution of the panel after the recusal of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Mann) leader B S Mann. 

    The bench headed by the CJI and also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian issued notice to the Centre seeking its response and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.

    During the hearing, senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan told the bench that the farmer unions they were representing were not interested in participating in the deliberations to be held by the committee as they were firm on their demand for repeal of the laws. 

    “If you don’t want to appear before the committee, we can’t compel you. But you can’t malign people like this and cast aspersions on them and the court. We have serious objections that members of the committee are criticised and called names,” the CJI said.

    ALSO READ: Narendra Modi government withdraws plea on farmers’ tractor rally as SC says won’t intervene

    Taking note of submissions that opinions on the panel members had been formed on the basis of media reports about their pro-farm laws views, a visibly annoyed CJI said, “You cannot brand people like this… Everyone argues before a judge as if he is arguing on a clean slate but branding people has become a cultural thing now. Even judges express views during hearing. That doesn’t mean they can’t decide an issue.” 

    Noting that the basis of the plea was that all its current members had earlier expressed views in favour of the laws and hence, were biased, the CJI questioned, “How do you come to that conclusion? They are brilliant minds in the field of agriculture. They are experts. How can you malign them because they expressed some views in the past?… The Supreme Court appoints a committee and their reputation is torn to shreds.”

    ALSO READ: Narendra Modi government proposes to put farm laws on hold for two years to break the ice

    The bench said the committee had not been given powers to adjudicate and its role was only to hear the grievances of the parties impacted and report to the court. 

    UK MP concerned over NIA notices

    British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has raised the issue of NIA sending notices to a number of people who are associated with the farmers’ stir in New Delhi.

    Asking a question to the Foreign Minister in the Parliament, Dhesi said over 100 members of the House of Commons have signed and sent a cross-party letter to PM Boris Johnson about “our anxieties for the protesting farmers in India”.

    BJP MP’s terror quip triggers row

    A BJP lawmaker triggered a row in Rajasthan by alleging terrorists were part of the farmers’ protest at Delhi borders.

    In a video clip, Dausa MP Jaskaur Meena is heard saying, “Terrorists are sitting there with AK-47s and have pitched the Khalistan flag.”

    ALSO READ: Terrorists sitting at farmers’ protest sites, says BJP MP; kicks up row in Rajasthan

    State BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma justified Meena’s comment while Congress chief G S Dotasara said the people were ashamed to have voted for her. 

    Congress to join long march in Mumbai

    The Congress in Maharashtra will participate in the ‘long march’ planned by farmer organisations in Mumbai on January 25 against the agri laws.

    Former Congress minister Naseem Khan said the party will support the four-day agitation organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha beginning January 23.

    State Congress leaders, including chief Balasaheb Thorat, will join the march to Raj Bhavan on January 25.