Justice TS Thakur Recommends Justice JS Khehar as 44th Chief Justice of India

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar has been recommended as the 44th Chief Justice of India (CJI) and shall succeed Chief Justice TS Thakur who will retire on January 3, 2017.

• 64 years old Justice Khehar will be sworn in as CJI by the President Pranab Mukherjee on January 4, 2017 and will hold the tenure for over seven months till August 27, 2017.
• Justice Khehar will be the first Chief Justice of India from the Sikh community.
• Justice Khehar’s name for appointment as the next CJI was recommended by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur on December 6, 2016.
• After the retirement of TS Thakur and the appointment of Justice Khehar as CJI, the collegium for appointment of judges will also change. The new collegium will comprise of Justice Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, and Justice Madan Lokur.

About Justice JS Khehar

• Jagdish Singh Khehar was born on August 28, 1952.He graduated in Science from Government College, Chandigarh in 1974 after which he pursued LL.B degree from the Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1977.
• iHe also acquired LL.M degree from the Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1979 and stood first in the University for which he was awarded Gold Medal.

Working Profile

• 1979: Enrolled as an Advocate and practiced mainly in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court and the Supreme Court of India.
• 1992: Appointed as Additional Advocate General, Punjab, in January 1992, and then as Senior Standing Counsel, Union Territory, Chandigarh.
• 1995: Designated as Senior Advocate in February, 1995.
• 1999: Elevated to the Bench of High Court of Punjab and Haryana, at Chandigarh, on February 8, 1999.
• 2008: Appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court twice i.e., with effect from August 02, 2008, and again, with effect from November 17, 2009.
• 2009: Elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand, Nainital on November 29,2009
• 2010: Appointed as Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka on August 8, 2010.
• 2011: Appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India where he assumed office on September 13, 2011.

Benches Headed by JS Khehar

• Justice JS Khehar led the five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court which had struck down the controversial NJAC Act for appointment of judges.
• He also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January 2016 and restored the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in Arunachal Pradesh.
• He was also 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 also headed a bench which recently gave a significant verdict holding that the principal of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has to be made applicable to those engaged as daily wagers, casual and contractual employees who perform the same duties as the regulars.