Justice Bobde will take oath as next CJI in November
On Tuesday, President Ram Nath Kovind approved a warrant appointing Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde as the next Chief Justice of India. He will be taking the oath on November 18, a day after the current CJI Ranjan Gogoi retires. Justice Bobde, who will be the 47th CJI, is expected to exit the office on April 23, 2021. Here are more details.
Justice Bobde comes from a family of lawyers
Born on April 24, 1956, Justice Bobde comes from a family of lawyers in Nagpur. His grandfather was a lawyer, and his father Arvind Bobde served as advocate-general of Maharashtra. Justice Bobde studied law from Nagpur University and got enlisted as a lawyer in 1978. In 1998, he became a senior advocate and in 2000, joined Bombay High Court as an additional judge.
Justice Bobde is part of constitutional bench judging Ayodhya case
In October 2012, Altamas Kabir, the 39th CJI, made him the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. A year later, Kabir promoted him to the Supreme Court. He is immensely respected among his peers, which is why he has been a part of important benches. Justice Bobde is one of the five judges of the constitutional bench adjudging the sensitive Ayodhya case.
He has given important orders in the past
Having spent decent number of years in SC, Justice Bobde has signed several important rulings. He had ruled that Aadhaar should not be used as a ground to deny government subsidies to anyone. In 2016, he ordered that firecrackers shouldn't be sold in NCR, considering the rise in air pollution. He was also part of panel probing sexual harassment allegations against CJI Gogoi.
Ministers of Union Cabinet will attend the ceremony
Reportedly, Justice Bobde's oath-taking ceremony will be attended by top dignitaries of the country. Some senior minister of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet and other top officials of the judiciary are likely to attend the event. The oath will be administered by President Kovind.
CJI Gogoi has to deliver 5 verdicts before retirement
Evidently, CJI Gogoi's schedule is packed as he has to deliver five verdicts, including the Ram Janmbhoomi dispute. He also heads review bench formed to judge the Sabarimala verdict of September 2018. CJI Gogoi will also announce verdict on Rafale review plea, the case filed against former Congress President Rahul Gandhi by BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi, and constitutional validity of the Finance Act, 2017.
