NEW DELHI: Amidst shortage of judges in the Supreme Court of India, the new designated Chief Justice of India Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar’s biggest challenge would be to finalise the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges.
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar will be the 44th Chief Justice of India. He will be sworn in as CJI on January 4, 2017.
Chief Justice of India Justice T S Thakur on Tuesday recommended Justice Khehar’s name for the appointment. Justice Khehar would remain in office till August 4, 2017. He assumed office as a Judge in the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011.
While speaking to Express, Former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha terms Justice Khehar as an hard working person and said, “His biggest challenge is to first finalise the new rules for appointment of judges in the apex and high courts and then fill the present seven vacancies in the apex court.”
“He is an hard working man and I hope he would be able to carry his colleagues with him in the collegium meetings and resolve the ongoing tussle between the judiciary and executive going on at present,” Justice Lodha said adding though he has a short tenure but his sharp administrative skills will be a big boost for the judicial system.
“He has love and passion for his work and this is what the institution will gain during his tenure,” Justice Lodha said.
With Chief Justice T S Thakur’s retirement next month, the collegium would now be comprised of Justice Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra, Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Madan B. Lokur.
Justice Khehar had led the constitution bench which held the National Judicial Accountability Commission (NJAC) Act unconstitutional. He was also a member of the Judges Inquiry Committee for investigating the grounds on which the removal of Justice P D Dinakaran, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, has been sought.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Aryama Sundaram told Express that, “Justice Khehar is a respected judge and he is known for his impeachable integrity. He is also known as a person who always uphold the dignity of the court.”
Justice Khehar has also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January this year. He was also a part of the bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies.
Senior advocate Rajesh Kumar Mishra also praised Justice Khehar as a positive person and said, “He always give patient hearing to all the cases and work for the betterment of institution with his ideas to the court administration.”
Justice Khehar also headed a bench which recently gave a significant verdict holding that the principal of 'equal pay for equal work' has to be made applicable to those engaged as daily wagers, casual and contractual employees who perform the same duties as the regulars.
Before his elevation to the apex court, he was the Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka, where he assumed his office on August 8, 2010.