New Delhi, June 1
Justice R.C. Lahoti, seniormost judge of the Supreme Court was today sworn in as the new Chief Justice of India. He takes over from Justice S. Rajendra Babu.
President A.P.J Abdul Kalam administered the oath of office to Mr Justice Lahoti at an impressive ceremony at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It was attended by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, several Union Ministers, judges of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.
After taking the oath Mr Justice Lahoti walked to his mother who was occupying a seat in the front VVIP row and touched her feet to get blessings.
Sixtythree-year-old Justice Lahoti will be the 35th Chief Justice of India and will have a tenure of nearly 18 months.
After the swearing-in ceremony Mr Justice Lahoti in an informal chat with media- persons said, "I owe everything to my parents."
The ceremony was also attended among others by Home Minister Shivraj Patil, HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram, Food, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Sharad Pawar, Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Besides, outgoing Chief Justice S. Rajendra Babu, former CJIs V.N. Khare, B.N. Kirpal, A.S. Anand, Ranganath Misra and M.M. Punchhi also attended the ceremony.
