Sabyasachi Mukharji: The Former Chief Justice of India

Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji was born on June 1st, 1927. He is an Indian lawyer who subsequently became a judge. Justice Lahoti authored 315 decisions and part of 597 benches during his 6-year tenure at the Supreme Court. Justice Mukharji passed away in London on September 25, 1990, from a heart attack (which made worse by diabetes). He was the second Chief Justice to pass away while serving. He was preceded by Justice E. S. Venkataramiah and succeeded by Justice Ranganath Misra.

Early Life and Education

Justice S. Rajendra Babu was born in Calcutta, (now Kolkata), West Bengal. His father Rai Bahadur Bejoy Bihari Mukharji was the first Indian director general of land records for the Bengal Presidency. His older brothers were Dr. Aurobindo Bihari Mukharji, a renowned cardiologist, and Justice Prasanta Bihari Mukharji, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. He completed his secondary education at the Mitra Institute in Bhowanipore, Kolkata, and went on to get a degree from Presidency College. In 1946, he graduated with honours in Economics from Calcutta University.

Career

Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji began his legal career during the following time period −

• In 1949, he started practising law as an attorney in the Calcutta High Court, where he specialised in civil, tax, and constitutional issues.

• He was appointed to the Calcutta High Court as a judge in July 1968.

• In 1982, he served as a member of the Eighth Finance Commission.

• He was appointed as the Calcutta High Court's interim Chief Judge on March 1, 1983.

• Mukharji was appointed to the Supreme Court of India on March 15, 1983

• On December 18, 1989, he was appointed as Chief Justice of India.

Fact	Details
Name	Sabyasachi Mukharji
Date of Birth	1st June, 1927
Alma Matar	Calcutta University
Official Tenure	18th December, 1989 – 25th September, 1990
President	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
Preceded	E. S. Venkataramiah
Succeeded	Ranganath Misra
As Judge	Judge of the Calcutta High Court Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court Judge of Supreme Court Chief Justice of India

Notable Judgement

The notable judgments are −

Charan Lal Sahu vs. Union of India

In the current case, The Bhopal Gas Leak (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985 was affirmed by a five-judge panel chaired by Mukharji J. The Act granted the Government sole authority to speak on behalf of the victims. It was stated that they could not assert that they were speaking for victims impacted by accidents in these firms because the government had allowed the construction of factories without the required protections.

The Court maintained the law and granted the government the only authority to speak on behalf of the victims. They came to the conclusion that the government stood up for the victims who couldn't otherwise advocate for themselves.

A.R. Antulay vs. R.S. Nayak

In the present case, the Supreme Court's five-judge Bench heard the case. But, instead of using a Special Trial Court, it also moved the several legal cases involving the corruption charges to the Bombay High Court. As a result of an unfair trial, Antulay contested this ruling. He emphasised that if the High Court presided over his trial, he would only be able to appeal to the Supreme Court once. But, if the trial took place before a Special Court, he had two options for appealing: the High Court and the Supreme Court.

A seven-judge panel presided over by Mukharji J concluded that by sending the matter to the Bombay High Court in 1984, the five-judge panel had restricted Antulay's ability to utilise an appeal remedy. He decided that the Supreme Court cannot provide jurisdiction to a High Court that has not been granted by statute or the constitution in his majority judgement.

P.N. Duda vs. P. Shiv Shankar

In the present case, a speech by P. Shiv Shankar, Minister for Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs, claimed that criminals and antisocial elements had "discovered their heaven" in the Supreme Court and benefitted from its rulings. He was accused of violating the 1971 Contempt of Courts Act.

In Mukharji J's view, the definition of contempt of court was limited. These remarks needed to interfere with the "administration of justice" in order to qualify as contempt. He pointed out that legislative flaws were to blame if criminals and anti-social groups benefited from the Court's ruling. Furthermore, when considered from this "correct perspective," these remarks had no impact on how justice is administered, so there was no justification for starting the contempt process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Who was the first Chief Justice of India who died in office?

Ans. The first Chief Justice of India to die in office is Justice H. J. Kania.

Q2. Which is the oldest high court in India?

Ans. The oldest high court in India is the Culcutta High Court.

Q3. Who is the longest serving Chief Justice of India?

Ans. The longest serving Chief Justice of India is Justice Y.V. Chandrachud.