Earlier, Justice NV Ramana had recommended the name of Justice UU Lalit as his successor. His name was recommended as per the norms of seniority. Following the recommendation, the President of India confirmed his appointment.
New Delhi: A day after Justice NV Ramana retired from the post of Chief Justice of India, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit on Saturday took oath for the highest post. UU Lalit took oath as 49th Chief Justice of India. President of India Droupadi Murmu administered his oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Lalit was a senior advocate before his elevation to the Supreme Court. His appointment as judge of the Supreme Court had taken place on August 13, 2014.
Earlier, Justice NV Ramana had recommended the name of Justice UU Lalit as his successor. His name was recommended as per the norms of seniority. Following the recommendation, the President of India confirmed his appointment. The newly appointed Chief Justice of India will have a tenure of just 74 days as he will retire on 8th November.
As per the report, Justice UU Lalit’s elevation to the Supreme Court bench is direct from the bar. Earlier in 1964, Justice SM Sikri was elevated directly to the apex court bench. He became the 13th Chief Justice of India in January 1971.
During the farewell of outgoing CJI NV Ramana, UU Lalit said that his focus will be to make the listing of cases simple, clear and as transparent as possible. He also said to ensure a clear cut regime so urgent cases could freely be mentioned before the respective benches. UU Lalit said that there will be at least one Constitution Bench functioning throughout the year in the Supreme Court.
His predecessor, however, expressed his regret for not being able to list all the pending matters. He said that the court has been firefighting pendency, which rose alarmingly during the pandemic months.
