Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar’s appointment is in keeping with the tradition of the senior most Supreme court judge succeeding the existing CJI. The reported that the incumbent CJI T S Thakur had written to the Union government recommending Justice Jagdish Singh’s appointment as the next CJI.
64-year-old Justice Khehar will become the first person from the Sikh community to hold the office. This also means that now, people from the Sikh community have held top most important positions in Indian democracy over time. President Giani Zail Singh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and now, Chief Justice of India, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar.
Justice Khehar graduated in science from Government College, Chandigarh in 1974. Then he chose Law and graduated from Punjab University in 1977. He did LLM in 1979 and also came first to win gold medal in the same university. He practiced in Punjab and Haryana High court and became a senior advocate in 1995. He was also involved in the proceedings related to removal of two judges – SC judge V Ramaswamy and Chief Justice of Karnataka P D Dinakaran.
He earned his place in history when the five-judge panel headed by him shot down the National Judicial Appointments Commission.
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar is known for his sharp wit in the court room and frankness in opinion. He will be appointed Chief Justice of India on the 4th of January 2017.
