Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was sworn in as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Wednesday the 4th of January 2017. He was administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Justice Khehar is the 44th CJI and also the first Sikh to hold the top most judicial office in India. This also means that now, people from the Sikh community have held top most important positions in Indian democracy over time. President Giani Zail Singh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and now, Chief Justice of India, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar.
Justice Khehar was the author of the judgment by a five-judge constitution bench that held “unconstitutional” the Constitution’s 99th amendment paving way for the National Judicial Appointment Commission and the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act, 2014.
Justice Khehas is the son of a Kenyan immigrant who returned to his roots in India when he was in school. Justice Khehar was a bright student in school who later became a gold-medallist from Punjab University Chandigarh. As lawyer, his moment under the spot light came much early in his career, when he put up a strong defence Justice V Ramaswami, a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, who was accused of corruption as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The prceeding against Jusitce Ramaswami happened to be independent India’s first impeachment motion against a judge.
Justice Khekar is known for his unflinching stand and has had many rough brushes within the Judicial establishment itself, even if it meant impeachment of a colleague. In 2010, as the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, Justice Khehar was appointed a member of the three jurists committee, set up to examine corruption charges against Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, P D Dinakaran, who was facing impeachment proceedings. Before the proceedings could get over, Justice Dinakaran had resigned from his post.
In this interview, Advocate Ranjit Singh talks about the high work ethics and morals of Justice Khehar who always put justice to common man as his top most priority and always worked for the benefit of society. Advocate Ranjit says it’s a proud moment for all of India, especially the Sikh community to see one of their own scales heights of success though their work.
About Advocate Ranjit Singh:
After completing his degree in law from Punjab University campus, Advocate ranjit Singh started his practice in his home town of Patiala. The initial days of his career were groomed by a senior most criminal advocate from Patiala Mr NPS Waraich. Later he shifted to Chandigarh and started practicing under senior criminal advocate Mr JS Bedi.
Though his forte is criminal law, he has also contested many challenging civil cases. He is also a member of an NGO, Sadvipra Samaj Sewa who frequently organise legal camps especially across Punjab and Haryana. His motive is to help the needy and to spread awareness regarding laws and Indian legal system among members of society.
