Justice N V Ramana sworn in as 48th Chief Justice of India

He takes over as head of judiciary on superannuation of Justice S A Bobde as CJI

Justice N V Ramana, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court was sworn as the Chief Justice of India here on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Ramana in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad along with other dignitaries attended the function.

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With his appointment, 63-year-old Justice Ramana, who hails from Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, would face several challenges, including filling up of 411 vacancies of judges in the High Courts and six in the Supreme Court. Twenty five High Courts had sanctioned strength of 1080 judges. The top court at present had 28 judges including the CJI.

His predecessor Justice S A Bobde, who demitted office on Friday, could not make a single appointment in the Supreme Court in his over 17-month long tenure as the CJI, apparently due to lack of consensus in the Collegium comprising five senior-most judges.

Justice Ramana, who ascended to the highest seat in the judiciary as 48 th CJI after starting as a first generation lawyer, would also have to take into consideration a demand by the Bar members to take them into confidence in the decision-making process.

Access to justice during the Covid-19 pandemic would be another uphill task for him as the top court had switched to virtual mode of hearing since March 2020.

Read | S A Bobde ends his Chief Justice duties 'satisfied', feels he did his best

He had on Friday said the country was passing through testing time due to unprecedented Covid-19 situation but hoped that it would emerge stronger. "We are going through testing times as we battle the Covid wave. Lawyers, judges and court staff are all affected due to the virus. Some hard measures may be necessary to break the chain of transmission. We can defeat the pandemic together with dedication," he said on Friday at the farewell function of Justice Bobde.

The Law Ministry on April 6 issued a notification on Justice Ramana's appointment as the Chief Justice of India, following a recommendation made by Justice Bobde.

Justice Ramana was elevated to the Supreme Court on February 17, 2014.

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He is expected to retire on August 26, 2022 after a term of over 16 months.

Justice Ramana played an active role in students politics. He did have a brief stint as a journalist before he joined the legal profession.