On the eve of Republic Day, President of India has approved the conferment of the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, to former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Jagdish Singh Khehar. Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan has been honoured with the Padma Shri.
Justice Khehar, a graduate of Panjab University in Chandigarh, began his legal career in 1979 after completing his LL.M. He practiced in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court, and the Supreme Court. He was appointed as a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1999 and later served as the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand and Karnataka High Courts before being elevated to the Supreme Court in 2011, according to Bar and Bench.
He became the CJI in January 2017 and retired in August 2017.
JS Khehar’s landmark judgments
During his six-year term at the Supreme Court, Justice Khehar authored a total of 176 judgements He was most active in 2014 when he delivered 34 judgements and was a part of 63 benches, according to Supreme Court Observer.
In the six years of his tenure at the Supreme Court, Justice Khehar predominantly worked on criminal matters along with a mixture of civil, service and constitutional matters. He was involved in landmark cases around judicial appointments, the right to liberty and freedom of religion.
He delievered landmark judgments on the fundamental right to privacy (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India), Triple talaq (Shayara Bano vs Union of India), Arunachal Pradesh President’s Rule (Nabam Rebia vs Deputy Speaker).
In addition to Khehar, other Padma awardees announced on January 25 include Osamu Suzuki, former head of Suzuki Motor Corporation, and Chandrakant Sompura, the architect of the Ram temple. Folk singer Sharda Sinha, hockey player P R Sreejesh, and violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam also received Padma Vibhushan awards.
Padma Awardees
The 139 awardees include 23 women, 10 foreigners, and 13 posthumous honorees. The Padma awards were given in categories such as arts, social work, public affairs, science, literature, sports, and civil service. Notable recipients include former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, economist Bibek Debroy, and cricketer R. Ashwin, all of whom received Padma Bhushan awards.
The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, while the Padma Bhushan honors distinguished service of high order, and the Padma Shri recognizes distinguished service in any field.