Ramesh Chandra Lahoti: The Former Chief Justice of India

Justice Ramesh Chandra Lahoti was born on November 1^st, 1940. He is an Indian lawyer who subsequently became a judge. He served as CJI for 17 months. Justice Lahoti authored 342 decisions during his almost 7-year term in the Supreme Court. He died on March 23rd, 2022 at the age of 81. He was preceded by Justice S. Rajendra Babu and succeeded by Justice Y. K. Sabharwal.

Early Life and Education

He was born in Guna, Madhya Pradesh. He was raised in a well-known Hindu family. He received his graduation degree from Holkar College, Indore.

Career

Justice Ramesh Chandra Lahoti began his legal career during the following time period −

• He enrolled as an attorney in 1962 after joining the Guna district bar in 1960.

• He was appointed a District & Sessions Judge in April 1977 after being recruited directly from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service.

• He served as a District & Sessions Judge for one year before resigning in May 1978 to rejoin the Bar and focus his practise primarily at the Supreme Court.

• On 3 May 1988, he was appointed as a Madhya Pradesh High Court Additional Judge

• On 4 August 1989, he was elevated to the position of Permanent Judge.

• On February 7th, 1994, Lahoti was moved to the Delhi High Court.

• On December 9th, 1998, he was named a judge of the Indian Supreme Court.

Fact	Details
Name	Ramesh Chandra Lahoti
Date of Birth	1st November, 1940
Alma Matar	Holkar College, Indore
Official Tenure	1st June, 2004 – 31st October, 2005
President	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Preceded	S. Rajendra Babu
Succeeded	Y. K. Sabharwal
As Judge	District and Sessions Judge of the State Higher Judicial Services Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Permanent Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Judge of the Delhi High Court Judge of the Supreme Court Chief Justice of India

Notable Judgement

The notable judgments are −

Sarbananda Sonowal vs. Union of India

In the current case, Justice Lahoti presided over a three-judge panel. Sarbananda Sonowal, the Chief Minister of Assam, petitioned for the repeal of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983. The Act changed the Foreigners Act of 1946's requirement that a person present evidence of citizenship in order for the police to establish that they are an unlawful immigrant. The Act was abolished by the Court in a decision written by Chief Justice Lahoti because it violated Articles 14 and 355 of the Indian Constitution. It was determined that shifting this burden of evidence in situations covered by the IMDT Act was unfair to Assamese citizens and operated as a "barrier" to the identification of unlawful immigrants.

After Retirement

After stepping down as Chief Justice, the former Chief Justice arbitrated several high-profile disputes. The Vodafone tax issue, which occurred when Vodafone purchased the Indian telecom assets of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., was arbitrated by Justice Lahoti in 2015. The disagreement centred on transfer pricing, capital gains taxes, and concerns with retroactive taxation.

Further, Justice Lahoti was a member of the Indian International Model United Nations' Advisory Board. Also, he served as the head of the faculty's advisory board for law at Manav Rachna University.

Prosperity of his Tenure

The esteemed jurist, Justice Lahoti was one of the most understated Chief Justices in India. He retired from office after 17 months.

When Chief Justice Lahoti said that India's judiciary was "clean" in 2004, he broke new ground with several of his predecessors who had expressed alarm about the court's rising corruption. There was a startling assertion, especially in view of the frequent media exposes of corrupt judges around the nation.

The disputes have also been raised concerning the Chief Justice's handling of judicial transfers. During Chief Justice Lahoti's watch, Chief Justice BK Roy was moved from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Guwahati High Court in 2005.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are the powers of the Chief Justice of India?

Ans. The Chief Justice has the authority to assign cases to specific benches while acting in that position. The number of judges who will hear a case is another decision made by CJI. Consequently, he may amend the outcome by picking judges who he believes will favour a specific outcome.

Q2. Who appoints the Chief Justice of India?

Ans. According to Article 124(2) of the Constitution, the President appoints the Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court judges.

Q3. Who can remove the Chief Justice?

Ans. An order of the President must be passed after an address in each House of Parliament, supported by a majority of the membership of that House as a whole and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, and presented to the President in the same Session for such removal on the grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity. Otherwise, a judge of the Supreme Court cannot be removed from office.

Q4. Can a judge of supreme court practice law after his/her retirement?

Ans. A former Supreme Court judges are prohibited from representing clients in any court or before any other authority in India.