Justice Bobde set to be sworn in as CJI

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, will on Monday be sworn in as the 47th Chief Justice of India (CJI).

He will be administered the oath of the office by President Ram Nath Kovind in a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Justice Bobde, thereafter, will preside over a bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant and take up listed cases for hearing.

63-year-old, Justice Bobde will have a tenure as the CJI till April 23, 2021.

With Justice Bobde taking over as the CJI, the composition of five-judge Collegium will also undergo change with the inclusion of Justice R Banumathi. The Collegium will have its task cut out to fill up 424 vacancies of judges in 25 High Courts, out of total strength of 1079 judges.

Justice Bobde, who hails from a family of lawyers, got himself enrolled as an advocate 41 years ago. He practised at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, before his elevation to the bench. He then moved on to become the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. In 2013, he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court.

In his tenure as SC judge, he was a member of the five-judge bench that adjudicated upon the Ayodhya dispute.

He was a part of the nine-judge bench who delivered the landmark verdict making Privacy a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.

He was a part of the three-judge bench in SC comprising J Chelameswar and C Nagappan that ruled that no Indian citizen without an Aadhaar card can be deprived of basic services and government subsidies.

He played the role of a peacekeeper between former CJI Dipak Misra and other judges when four senior-most judges, including his predecessor Justice Ranjan Gogoi, addressed a press conference on January 12, 2017, raising questions on allocation of cases.

Justice Bobde is an avid dog lover and also likes to ride bikes. In early this years, he reportedly fell off, while riding 'Harley Davidson', and broke his leg.