New Delhi, May 25
Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti, seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, was today appointed the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) by the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
He succeeds Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu, who had a short stint of 31 days in office. Mr Justice Babu, who took over from Mr Justice V.N. Khare on May 2 is retiring on June 1.
Mr Justice Lahoti will be the 34th Chief Justice of India and will hold the high constitutional post for 17 months.
Born in 1940 in Guna in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Justice Lahoti, who is known for his sharp legal brain started his career as an advocate in Madhya Pradesh in 1963.
Though he was directly appointed District and Sessions Judge in 1962, he had resigned from the post to pursue his legal practice and was appointed judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 1988.
He was later transferred to the Delhi High Court in 1994 and was the second seniormost judge of it before being elevated to the Supreme Court in December 1998.
He was instrumental in defusing the crisis in the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently when 25 of its judges had gone on mass leave to protest against Chief Justice B.K. Roy's alleged style of functioning and said they were finding it difficult to work with him.
