Lalit Mohan Sharma: Former Chief Justice of India

In 1950, Justice Lalit Mohan Sharma began his practice as an advocate at the Patna High Court. In 1957, he registered as a Supreme Court advocate, and in 1958, he was appointed Senior Advocate. In 1973, he was sworn in as a Patna High Court judge.

Personal Details

Lalit Mohan Sharma was born on February 12, 1928, into a zamindar family in the hamlet of Musi (Belaganj, Gaya, Bihar). When Indira Gandhi was India's prime minister, his father Lal Narayan Sinha served as both the country's solicitor general (17 July 1972–5 April 1977) and attorney general. The Patna High Court now has Justice Parthasarthy as a judge.

Professional Details

In 1946, Lalit Mohan Sharma, Justice, earned his B.A. with honours from Patna University. Passed the B.L. (Patna University) exam in 1948. He applied to work as an articled clerk in the Patna High Court in 1949. He started practising as a barrister in Patna's High Court in 1950. He became a Supreme Court lawyer in 1957, and in 1958 he was named Senior Advocate. He took the oath to preside over the Patna High Court in 1973. He was selected to serve as a Supreme Court justice in 1987. He succeeded M.H. Khania as India's Chief Justice in 1992. 13 months following his retirement, in 1993. During his seven years as a Supreme Court justice, he wrote 157 decisions and sat on 406 benches.

Justice L. M. Sharma handled cases largely regarding constitutional and service law. Additionally, he has offered opinions on tenancy, property, and criminal law. On October 5, 1987, he began serving on the Supreme Court of India. On November 18, 1992, he was named Chief Justice of India. On February 11th, 1993, he left the judicial branch of government. Sharma passed away at his home in Patna on November 3, 2008, after a protracted illness. At 80 years old, he was. His wife, son, and daughter are the only ones left.

Major Judgements

It includes:

K Veeraswami v Union of Indian & Ors: Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court are considered public officials under Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, according to the Court's 4:1 ruling. The judges further underlined that, in accordance with the terms of the 1947 Act, no FIR may be filed against a sitting Supreme Court judge without the consent of the appropriate authority.

Chand Rani (dead) by LRs v Kamal Rani (dead) by LRs: There is no assumption that time is of the essence of the contract in a sale of immovable property, according to the five-judge panel led by Chief Justice L.M. Sharma. Though the conditions are from the specific terms of the contract; from the nature of the property and the surrounding circumstances; even if time is not of the essence, the court may infer that it is to be executed in a reasonable amount of time.

Mohan Pandey & Ors vs Usha Rani Rajgaria & Ors: Justice L.M. Sharma ruled that the High Court cannot permit the employment of constitutional power under Article 226 to resolve issues for which there are available civil or criminal remedies under general law. As a result, the petition for the enforcement of a private right to real property under Article 226 was denied.

FAQs

Q1. Who had appointed Lalit Mohan Sharma as the Chief Justice of India?

Ans. Former President Shankar Dayal Sharma had appointed Lalit Mohan Sharma as the 24^th Chief Justice of India on 18 November 1992.

Q2. Which High Court did Lalit Mohan Sharma serve before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India?

Ans. Primarily, Lalit Mohan Sharma appointed as a judge of Patna High Court on 12 April 1973. He joined the Supreme Court of India on October 5, 1987 and appointed as Chief Justice of India on 18 November 1992.