Justice Ranjan Gogoi sworn in as chief justice of India

Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, was on Wednesday sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of India.

He was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind in a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Cabinet colleagues, including Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Deve Gowda, and other Opposition leaders, outgoing CJI Justice Dipak Misra, Supreme Court judges among others attended the oath taking ceremony.

The Ayodhya land dispute case related to Babri Masjid and Ram Temple, the appointment of Lokpal, and the implementation of the National Register for Citizens would be some of the major challenges before the new CJI.

Justice Gogoi would also have to take along his brother judges in decision making particularly on the allocation of cases. The issue had rankled senior judges during the tenure of the outgoing CJI, which resulted in an unprecedented press conference on January 12.

Justice Gogoi was one of the four judges who expressed their anguish over the functioning of the then CJI.

On Wednesday, Justice Gogoi would preside over a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Jopseh in the Chief Justice's court at noon and would take up cases, including two PILs.

Justice Gogoi, who is from Assam, would be the first CJI from the Northeast. His term will last till November 18, 2019.

Justice Gogoi's name was recommended by the outgoing CJI last month to the top post in the judiciary.

An alumnus of Delhi University's prestigious St Stephen's College, where he studied history, Justice Gogoi is the son of former Assam chief minister Keshab Chandra Gogoi.

He got enrolled as an advocate in 1978 in the Gauhati High Court, where he practised on constitutional, taxation and company matters before being appointed as a permanent judge of the Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001.

He was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 9, 2010. He was subsequently elevated as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 12, 2011, before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012.

Justice Gogoi has delivered several significant judgments, including Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) and setting up of special courts to exclusively try MPs and MLAs.

He also handled the matters related to Rajiv Gandhi assassination case seeking the remission of life sentences of convicts and appointment of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, among others.