Justice Ramana takes oath as CJI

NEW DELHI: Justice NV Ramana was on Saturday sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Ram Nath Kovind during a small ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan owing to Covid restrictions.

Justice Ramana, whose tenure will be until August 26, 2022, succeeds justice SA Bobde. He is the first judge from the Andhra Pradesh high court to become CJI.

At the farewell of justice Bobde on Friday, justice Ramana paid his tribute to all those who lost their lives due to the Covid-19 pandemic and implored people to exercise utmost caution against the spread of the infection. “During these unprecedented times, some strong measures are necessary to break the cycle. I request everyone to cooperate in implementing these measures,” he said.

After working as a journalist, justice Ramana enrolled as an advocate in 1983 and specialised in constitutional, criminal, service, and interstate river laws at the Andhra Pradesh high court.

He was appointed as a permanent judge of the high court in 2000. He was elevated as chief justice of the Delhi high court in 2013 and to the Supreme Court a year later.

Justice Ramana has been a part of several landmark judgments, underscoring constitutional rights, democratic values, and accountability. In his judgments in the cases of Anuradha Bhasin and the Foundation for Media Professionals, he ruled that access to the internet is a fundamental right by extension while pulling the government up for the telecommunications blackout in Jammu & Kashmir after the nullification of the region’s semi-autonomous status.

PTI Justice NV Ramana