New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana recommended the name of Justice U U Lalit as his successor to the government. The move came after Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote to the CJI requesting him to recommend the name of his successor as Chief Justice Ramana will retire on August 26.
Justice Lalit will be sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India on August 27. He would have a short tenure of 74 days. Justice Lalit will retire on November 8 and after that Justice DY Chandrachud will be appointed as the 50th Chief Justice of India.
“The Secretariat of the Chief Justice of India has received a communication on August 3, 2022, from the Minister of Law and Justice requesting the CJI to recommend the name of his successor,” stated the information shared by the apex court.
If appointed, Justice Lalit will become the second CJI to have the direct elevation to the Supreme Court Bench from the Bar. The first was Justice SM Sikri, who became the 13th CJI in January 1971.
Justice Lalit was part of the majority opinion of the Constitution Bench judgment which declared Triple Talaq unconstitutional. He had recused himself from the Ayodhya case as he was appearing for former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh in a contempt case related to the Babri demolition.
