WHEN Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana takes over the top judicial chair in the country on April 24, it will be the culmination of his decades of struggle against injustice, as experienced from his humble beginnings, followed by student activism and even a stint in journalism. In the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI), the country will get a leader with immense achievement, yet with the humility to deal with fame and power. President Ram Nath Kovind put his official signature on the appointment of Justice Ramana on April 6. He will be succeeding CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde.
The importance of such a person leading the current stressed judicial system of the country is that his known and admired balanced approach to issues of law and society will be in evidence in pronouncements that the country follows closely.
He has already delivered several pathbreaking verdicts, many around constitutional jurisprudence, commercial laws and civil liberties. In Anuradha Bhasin us Union of India, he ended the year-long internet ban in Jammu and Kashmir and the progressive nature of the thought process behind the judgment re-established that the freedom of access to the internet was a fundamental right. The apex court ruled that an undefined restriction of internet services would be illegal and that orders for internet shutdown must satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality.” The Court clearly stated that freedom of speech and expression included right to the internet and therefore was protected under the constitution.
His early fights for the rights of the oppressed and the ill-informed of society were evident in another critical judgement, in Central Public Information Officer vs Subhash Chandra Agarwal (2019), which dealt with the Right to Information Act, 2005. This was a bold verdict that opened up the judges of the top court to a certain level of public scrutiny.
This story is from the January 10, 2022 edition of India Legal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 10, 2022 edition of India Legal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
PIL, Difficult To Swallow?
In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court lamented the increasing number of frivolous public interest litigations being filed in courts and echoed the sentiments of the Supreme Court that such litigations are the bane of the judicial system. Is there any way to restrict their misuse?
Till Infertility Do Us Part...
The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife's infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters
IS THAT LEGAL?
Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked queries regarding matters that affect us on a day-to-day basis
The Big Lie
In America, The Big Lie is an idiom used by Donald Trump's opponents and the media to describe his constant gripe about election fraud. Now, it seems more suited to another Republican, Congressman George Santos (right), who has been facing growing calls to resign after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume and biography since his election in New York last year.
Flying into the Sunset
Over 50 years since the first and original jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, took to the skies and revolutionized air travel, the last of the legendary aircraft (right) was delivered to a freight charter company, bringing down the curtain on one of aviation's most successful products.
Star Crossed
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood legend, having starred in a range of movies, award winning TV sitcoms, and theatre. He was most recently seen in Mission Impossible Fallout, which is an apt description of his current situation.
Walkouts in the UK
An estimated half a million workers have gone on strike, shutting down thousands of schools, public transport and border disruption. It is the biggest day of industrial action for more than a decade.
Myanmar's Misery
Two years after the military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the brutal crackdown by the junta on so-called \"insurgents\" and civilian protesters has reached a new level with the use of air strikes, a new and deadly tactic in the ongoing civil war.
AMERICA'S ANGST
From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America's domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection
JUSTICE LEAGUE
There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences
