New Delhi: Sticking to established conventions, the Centre on Thursday formally cleared the elevation of Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India, when the present incumbent, Justice Dipak Misra, demits office on October 2.
Justice Gogoi will take over as the next CJI on October 3. He will retire on November 17, 2019.
Bringing down the curtains on intense speculation that marred Justice Gogoi's elevation, an official press release on Thursday said, "The President of India has appointed Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India. He will assume the office of Chief Justice on October 3, 2018 after the retirement of Chief Justice Dipak Misra."
Born on November 18, 1954, Justice Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate in 1978. He practised in Gauhati High Court on constitutional, taxation and company matters.
He was appointed as a permanent judge of Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001.
On September 9, 2010, he was transferred to the Punjab & Haryana High Court. He was appointed Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court on February 12, 2011 and a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012.
Earlier there was speculation in political and legal circles that Justice Gogoi, known for his tough approach, may not find favour with the present NDA government which may break the convention to appoint some other judge as the next CJI.
The speculation gained currency after four senior most judges, that included Justice Gogoi, held an unprecedented press conference to accuse CJI Misra of acting in an arbitrary manner to allocate cases/benches to "preferred" judges overlooking the other senior judges in the hierarchy.
Some of the high profile cases being handled by Justice Gogoi at present include the delay in the appointment of the Lok Pal by the NDA government and setting up of special courts in the country to deal with criminal cases against lawmakers.
Justice Gogoi is also heading a bench also comprising Justice R.F. Nariman, which is dealing with the crucial issue relating to the update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
Conventionally, the second seniormost judge is appointed as the CJI, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Arup Borbora, 64, a senior advocate and former president of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association, said as an Assamese he was very happy to see Justice Gogoi becoming the first from Assam to be have reached the position of CJI.
Borbora has very "fond memories" since their days at the Bar since 1981 before Justice Gogoi was appointed as a permanenr judge of Gauhati High Court in 2001.
"I know him as a man of unquestionable integrity and I expect him to lead the judiciary from the front. It is how any CJI leads the judiciary both within and outside the court that is remembered by the people and the legal fraternity," Borbora said.
Apurba Kumar Sharma, another former colleague of Justice Gogoi in Gauhati High Court too recalled the "fond memories" of his association with him.
Sharma, also an executive chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), said the appointment of Justice Gogoi as the next CJI was a matter of pride and joy not only for the people of Assam but the entire Northeast since he will be the first person from this region to become CJI.
"It is a moment of extreme joy and pride for us," he said.
Sharma, who knew Justice Gogoi since the latter's days as a lawyer in Gauhati High Court in the late nineties, described him as a "very knowledgeable man and an excellent judge".
"I was fortunate to know him closely even after he became the judge of Gauhati High Court as I was the president of Gauhati High Court Bar Association at that time," he said.
Sharma fondly remembers travelling to Chandigarh to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Gogoi as a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2010.
He said the BCI would felicitate Justice Gogoi after he assumes office on October 3.
Additional reporting by our Guwahati bureau
