Justice Uday Umesh Lalit on Saturday took oath as the 49th Chief Justice of India. President Droupadi Murmu administered his oath in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 27.
Lalit succeeds Justice NV Ramana who retired from office on Friday. His term will last for 74 days, during which he will also head the collegium that appoints judges across the country.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other Union ministers.
Justice Lalit was made a Supreme Court judge directly from a lawyer in August 2014, making him the second such judge to become the chief justice of India. As a lawyer, Lalit was also appointed Special Public Prosecutor for the 2G spectrum allocation case trial.
The Supreme Court will be listing some crucial pleas on August 29, Lalit’s first day as chief justice. Some of the cases listed include pleas related to the government’s exercise of demonetisation in 2016, reservations to the economically weaker sections, and a challenge to WhatsApp’s privacy policy.
Justice Lalit in an interview with The Indian Express had spoken about the need to ensure crucial cases are listed on priority in courts. He had said that the Supreme Court would have to find a solution to the matter of listing of cases at the institutional level.
Speaking at a function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association to bid farewell to outgoing Chief Justice NV Ramana, Lalit had reiterated that he “will strive hard to make the process of listing cases as simple and transparent as possible,” and ensure that there was at least one Constitution bench functioning throughout the year.
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