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Justice Pathak heads The Tribune Trust
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 7
Justice Raghunandan Swarup Pathak, a former Chief Justice of India and an former Judge of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, will be the President of The Tribune Trust. He succeeds Mrs Serla Grewal, who died last week. A decision to this effect has been taken by the Trust through mutual consultations.

Justice Pathak joined The Tribune Trust as one of its members in August, 1994. He is 77. Known for his self-effacing low-key image, Justice Pathak has held several prestigious positions at home and abroad.

A son of Mr Gopal Swarup Pathak, a former Vice-President of India, Justice Pathak enrolled as an advocate at the Allahabad High Court in 1948 and at the Apex Court in 1957. After his stint as Additional Judge and a Judge of the Allahabad High Court, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on March 18, 1972.

In February, 1978, he was elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court and rose to become the Chief Justice of India on December 21, 1986. On June 19, 1989, he resigned as the Chief Justice to join the International Court of Justice. He became the third Indian to be elected to the world court, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

As a Judge of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India, Justice Pathak delivered a good number of judgments on a variety of subjects, including the famous Judges’ transfers’ case where he maintained that Judges could not be transferred without their consent and that the approval of the Chief Justice was essential. The release of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, the Bhopal gas victims and the Union Carbide Company judgments were the most talked about.

Justice Pathak was the Co-President, Court of Arbitration for Sport Ad Hoc Division, 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney) Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games (Nagano-1998).For the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, he was the President of the Court of Arbitration. He is also the President of the Court of Arbitration for the Winter Olympic Games to be held at Salt Lake City in the USA.

He also had a close relationship with the Shivalik and Himalayan region during his tenure as the Chief Justice at Shimla. He is also the Member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law. Among his several laurels is an honorary doctorate from Panjab University.