India: The Supreme Court of India’s Chief Justice, Uday Umesh Lalit, was sworn in on Saturday, but he will only serve in that capacity for 74 days before he must retire in November.
Justices of the Supreme Court must retire at age 65 in accordance with the Indian Constitution. According to seniority, the president appoints the chief justice.
N.V. Ramana, Lalit’s predecessor as Chief Justice, stated earlier this month that 65 “was too early to retire” for a judge.
According to the National Judicial Data Grid, there are an estimated 45 million cases that are still outstanding in Indian courts. The lack of judges, with almost 5,000 jobs open in the lower judiciary and 400 open positions for high court justices, was the primary cause of the sluggish disposal.There are now four open positions on the Supreme Court, which includes about 30 judges.
According to The Times of India (TOI), Justice Lalit promised to accelerate hearings on matters submitted to three-judge benches during his swearing-in ceremony today. He also announced that the Supreme Court would have a permanent five-judge bench.
According to the IndaiTOI, he promised to work hard to make the listing procedure for new cases as easy, efficient, swift, and transparent as possible during his 74-day term as the CJI.The new executive justice were born on November 9, 1957, in Maharashtra, according to an NDTV article. In June 1983, the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council registered Justice Lalit as an attorney. Before moving his practise to Delhi in January 1986, he continued to practise in the High Court of Bombay through December 1985.
The next CJI has conducted hearings as the Crime Branch India’s (CBI) public prosecutor in all 2G instances and specialises in criminal law. Additionally, he served two terms as a chairman of the Supreme Court’s Legal Services Committee.
