Justice JS Khehar appointed as 44th Chief Justice of India

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (64) will be the next Chief Justice of India (CJI). He will be the 44th CJI and shall succeed Chief Justice TS Thakur who retires on January 3, 2017.
Justice Khehar will be sworn in as the CJI by President Pranab Mukherjee on January 4, 2017. With this, he will be the first Sikh to become the CJI.
Justice Khehar’s name for appointment as the next CJI was recommended by SC collegium headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur. He would remain in office from January 4, 2017 till August 4, 2017 i.e. till he attains the age of 65.

About Jagdish Singh Khehar 

• Born on 28 August 1952.
• He was awarded the LL.B degree by the Panjab University, Chandigarh in 1977. Later he acquired the LL. M. qualification from the same University in 1979.
• He was enrolled as an Advocate in 1979 and practiced mainly in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh High Court, Shimla and the Supreme Court.
• He was appointed as Additional Advocate General, Punjab in January 1992, and then as Senior Standing Counsel Chandigarh (UT). He was designated as Senior Advocate in February, 1995.
• He was elevated to the Bench of High Court of Punjab and Haryana in February 1999. He was appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court twice in August 2008, and again in November 2009.
• He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand in November 2009. Later he was transferred as Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka, in August 2010.
• He was elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court in September 2011. He is due to retire from Supreme Court in August 2017.
• In SC, he had led the five-judge constitution bench which had struck down the NJAC Act and 99th Constitutional Amendment Act for appointment of judges.
• He has also headed a SC bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January 2016.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2016