Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Saturday. He was administered the oath by President Droupadi Murmu in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10.30 AM today. He assumes charge a day after incumbent Justice N V Ramana demitted the office.
Following his swearing-in, Justice Lalit signed the register of oath, with the President congratulating him for his new position.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former CJI NV Ramana, former President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Union ministers, including Law minister Kiren Rijiju, were among those present on the occasion.
#WATCH | President Droupadi Murmu administers the oath of Office of the Chief Justice of India to Justice Uday Umesh Lalit at Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/HqayMJDwBB
— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2022
Justice Lalit sought the blessings of his family members, including his 90-year-old father and former high court judge Umesh Ranganath Lalit, by touching their feet, after being sworn-in as the 49th CJI.
CJI Lalit will demit office on November 8 upon attaining 65 years, as protocol says that a judge must retire at the age of 65. Born on November 9, 1957, he will turn 65 this year. Justice D Y Chandrachud, the senior-most judge after Justice Lalit, is next in line to be India’s CJI.
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Born in Maharashtra, Justice Lalit had enrolled as an advocate in June 1983 and practised in the Bombay High Court till December 1985. He shifted his practice to Delhi in January 1986, and was designated as a senior advocate by the apex court in April 2004.
As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Lalit has been part of several landmark judgments and is set to preside over many important cases during his tenure.
The top court had recently assigned 25 cases to a five-judge Constitution bench. These matters, which would be listed from August 29, include the WhatsApp privacy feature, MLA bribery case, plea challenging the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 which provided reservation to Economically Weaker Sections, Jallikattu case, Sikh reservations in Punjab, and Assam Accord, among others.
Speaking at a function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to bid farewell to Justice NV Ramana on Friday, Justice Lalit said one of the areas he intends to work on is listing of cases before the Constitution benches and matters that are referred to three-judge benches.
Justice Lalit said he will strive to make “listing as simple, as clear, and as transparent as possible”, adding that he will sort out the matter regarding mentioning of urgent matters, and “shortly, you will have a clear-cut regime where any urgent matter can freely be mentioned before the respective courts,” he said.