Chief Justice of India is the highest and most sacrosanct constitutional post in India. CJI is not only inscribed with adjudication powers but also with administrative powers of the Supreme Court of India. Every administrative decision of CJI has the capacity to change the fate of the country. So, it is imperative that persons seated on the post carry the highest virtue of justice and discharge their duties.
Big Actions in Short Tenure
Justice Lalit was sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India on 27 August 2022. According to Article 124 of the Constitution, every judge of the Supreme court holds office until he attains the age of 65 years. Accordingly, born on 9 November 1957, CJI UU Lalit will hold office till 8 November 2022. In the very short tenure of 74 days, CJI UU Lalit seems firm in transforming the administrative functioning of the Supreme Court.
Putting a complete closure on the legal fight over the Babri Masjid demolition, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, dropped the contempt charges against Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sadhvi Ritambara, Vinay Katiyar, and others. The Court said that the SC bench has already delivered its judgment on the Ayodhya matter and now things survive in this matter. The Court said, “There is a verdict delivered by a larger bench. Nothing survives in this matter now. You can’t keep flogging a dead horse..”.
In other matters, the SC also closed all proceedings pertaining to the 2002 Gujarat riots. Hearing the pending plea, the Court said the cases have now become infructuous with the passage of time. The SC bench said, “Trials in eight out of nine cases are over and final arguments are going on in one case in the trial court, Naroda Gaon Gujarat”.
Hearing a plea challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy and Nikah halala, the Supreme Court has sought a response from National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Commission for Women (NCW), and National Commission for Minorities (NCM). The plea was filed by a Supreme Court advocate, Ashwini Upadhyay, which sought to declare polygamy and Nikah halala among Muslims unconstitutional and illegal.
Read More: The new CJI has done his homework
CJI’s Pledge to Transform the Supreme Court
In the farewell speech organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association for outgoing CJI NV Ramana, Justice Lalit had indicated to bring overhaul change in the Court system. He announced three major reforms. First, he will bring more transparency to the listing system. Second, a system will be envisaged for freely mentioning urgent matters before respective benches. And, third, he will strive to have one Constitution Bench functioning throughout the year.
Working on the pledge, the Supreme Court heard about 600 cases on a single day under the new CJI UU Lalit. Nearly 900 cases were listed on 29 August 2022. Out of which, around 592 were heard for the first time. The hearing was taken after the administrative decision of CJI UU Lalit to increase the listing of cases per bench in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has increased the average number of daily cases listed per bench to 60 from earlier 30. The 100% increase in the cause list is significant considering the pendency of cases in the Apex Court. CJI has taken this transformative decision within a few days of taking charges in the light of his earlier pledge.
In very few days, CJI UU Lalit has set the tone for the course of his tenure. Firm with his administrative abilities, CJI has resorted to transforming the functioning of the Supreme Court of India. It is said that the measure of a man is what he does with power. Justice UU Lalit’s tenure will be, similarly, measured on his performance in the office. If he succeeds in the promise he made, the tenure will be considered the golden period of the judicial system.
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