Hours after being sworn in on Sunday as the 42nd Chief Justice of India at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu pledged to be a common man’s judge on the Bench.
Justice Dattu was speaking to mediapersons on the lawns of his official residence.
Asked about the changes in the Supreme Court over the years, the CJI said the workload had increased tremendously and many sensitive cases were being filed now. Justice Dattu is presiding over the Bench monitoring the 2G spectrum scam.
He said the day of a judge had long hours of preparation, and work usually extended to 16 hours.
Justice Dattu will preside over the First Court from October 8 when the apex court re-opens after the Dussehra holidays.
The 63-year-old Chief Justice was sworn in by President Pranab Mukherjee. He took oath in the name of God at a brief ceremony attended by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and BJP veteran L. K. Advani, among other dignitaries.
Justice R.M. Lodha, who retired as the CJI on Saturday, several senior judges and retired judges and members of the Bar were also present.
He will serve for 14 months and retire on December 2, 2015.
Speaking to The Hindu earlier this month when his appointment as CJI was cleared, Justice Dattu had said: “I have a great responsibility to shoulder and I will do my best. I don’t want to claim that I will do this or that.”
He could become the last CJI to be appointed under the collegium system, if the States ratify the National Judicial Appointments Commission. The executive will then get an equal role in appointments to the highest judiciary.
