Justice Khehar becomes 44th CJI

The President on Monday appointed Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar as the 44th Chief Justice of India from January 4, 2017.

The incumbent Chief Justice T.S. Thakur had on December 6 communicated his recommendation to the government to appoint Justice Khehar. Chief Justice Thakur retires on January 3 after a tenure of a year.

Though the government notification informing the President’s clearance of Justice Khehar as next Chief Justice comes close to the swearing-in day, the decades-old convention of following the seniority norm has been duly complied with.

Justice Khehar, who led the Constitution Bench which scrapped the government’s National Judicial Appointments Commission law, will be the first Chief Justice from the Sikh community.

Justice Khehar will have a tenure for over seven months till August 28, 2017. He assumed office as judge of the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011.

Justice Khehar headed the Bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January this year. He was a part of the Bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies.

Justice Khehar led a Bench which recently gave a significant verdict holding that the principal of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has to be made applicable to daily wagers, casual and contractual staff.