The Ramana Effect

The CJI’s tenure has seen many firsts—appointments to courts, more women judges and elevation of lawyers. His boldness in promoting the rule of law should also be seen in expediting adjudication of cases

- Lokendra Malik

THE elevation of Justice NV Ramana as chief justice of India (CJI) on April 24 has seen a welcome change in the judiciary and should lead to a decrease in pendency and more sensitiveness in appointments. He started his work with commitment to the Constitution and has been successful in completing some difficult tasks.

Foremost among them is the recommendation of the collegium led by him on the appointment of nine judges to the Supreme Court. His predecessor CJI SA Bobde had failed to break the deadlock in the collegium and retired without making a single appointment of a judge to the apex court.

As per reports, Justice RF Nariman had insisted on the elevation of some senior High Court chief justices to the apex court, but CJI Bobde had a different view about this. But Justice Nariman is believed to have stuck to his guns and did not allow the collegium to bypass senior High Court judges and chief justices. This led to a serious impasse in the collegium.

But a few days after Justice Nariman’s retirement, the collegium recommended the appointment of nine judges to the centre in a single meeting. And surprisingly, the centre notified the appointments quickly. This was the first time that nine judges were appointed to the Supreme Court in one go.

And most importantly, three women judges were among those appointed for the first time. One of them is likely to become the CJI if the seniority order remains undisturbed till 2027. With this, the Court has got four women judges. Needless to say, women need more representation in the higher judiciary. A senior advocate was also appointed as a judge and is likely to lead the top court after a few years.