A NEW COURT IS IN SESSION
With approaching polls and a pile-up of high-profile cases, the year ahead brings big challenges for the new CJI Ranjan Gogoi
The dynamics within the collegium of top five judges is all set to change. After the crisis of trust amongst judges came out in the open at the historic press conference of top judges and with the Modi government defying the court recommendations on judicial appointments, the collegium needs to speak in one voice. All eyes are on how CJI Gogoi responds to the changing composition and chemistry and finds a lasting solution RANJAN GOGOI Oct—Nov 2019 Courtroom 1
With judges retiring from and joining the SC, the CJI will need to work with seven judges in 13 months. Two of the like-minded judges, present at the press conference, will retire; a few, at whom the rebel judges had pointed a finger, will enter; a few more will become chief justices later. There is too much at stake for everyone. No one will rock the boat, say courtwatchers
JUSTICE MADAN B LOKUR Oct—Dec 2018 Courtroom 2
He was at the January 12 press conference and will retire on December 30. He is known for energetic dedication towards saving the Taj Mahal, liberal values, for taking the bureaucracy to task, and questioning the government for not filling vacancies. He is also known for upholding child rights and the right to food
JUSTICE KURIAN JOSEPH Oct—Nov 2018 Courtroom 3
He was at the press conference. With his term ending on November 30, the CJI will lose a powerful voice on the independence of judiciary and the Centre’s inaction on collegium recommendations. He has spoken against postretirement benefits to judges and ‘tinkering with judicial discipline’ among his peers; he is also known for his role in hearings on the coal scam, independence of the CBI, and triple talaq
JUSTICE A.K. SIKRI Oct—Mar 2019 Courtroom 4
He entered the collegium after Justice J. Chelameswar’s retirement in June; is known for his gentle demeanour. After the fourjudge revolt, it was believed that he would be nominated as the next CJI instead of Justice Gogoi. In July, he had asserted the supremacy of the CJI over the collegium in response to a PIL; he wrote the majority verdict on Aadhaar
JUSTICE SHARAD ARVIND BOBDE Oct—Nov 2019 Courtroom 5
Due to become CJI after Justice Gogoi. Known to be tight-lipped but also exercises a persuasive influence on his peers. Precisely why he was approached by the Bar Council to speak to Justice Chelameswar after the press conference. A specialist in administrative, environmental and election laws, he was part of the bench that ordered that no Indian citizen without Aadhaar could be deprived of government benefits
JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA Dec—Nov 2019 Courtroom 6
With a tenure of eight years in the SC, he is in line to be the 48th CJI from April 2021, after Justice Bobde. He was praised for the judgment, along with Justice Gogoi, that held women could become kartas of joint families. Has weathered a storm of allegations of “unwarranted intimacy” with Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu and having a criminal record for rioting in his youth
JUSTICE A.K. MISHRA Jan—Nov 2019 Courtroom 7
A deeply religious man, who sports a strict demeanour. He was caught in the crossfire of the judges of the SC in January. Sensitive cases are assigned to him, notably the probe into the death of special CBI court judge B.H. Loya, by former CJI Misra. A late uncle was an active member of the BJP, explaining the close ties his family enjoys with top politicians
JUSTICE ROHINTON FALI NARIMAN Apr—Nov 2019 Courtroom 8
He is the fifth Supreme Court judge to be elevated directly from the Bar; has been on constitution benches delivering landmark decisions—from freedom of speech to triple talaq, adultery to Sabarimala. He is monitoring the NRC in Assam with CJI Gogoi. A great believer in fraternity, he said, “How will there be unity among us unless we first learn to fraternise? Fraternity is a cardinal value of our Constitution”