REETI PRIYA
Ranchi, Aug 26: In a first-ever historic event, the Supreme Court’s ruling on political freebies live-streamed on Friday in honour of departing Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana.
For the first time, Supreme Court hearings and decisions in about 20 cases were webcasted.
This is not the first time that people witnessed some extraordinary changes in the Indian judiciary. The Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, who will step down on August 26 after serving for almost a year and a half, continuously worked to enhance judicial infrastructure. He took oath as the 48th head of the judiciary on April 24 last year.
In order to address India’s enduring issue of a large case backlog in courts, CJI Ramana emphasised on the need to fill judicial vacancies as well as enhance the judicial infrastructure.
He has frequently emphasised on the necessity of reducing the caseload per judge and improving the judge-to-population ratio while advocating for raising the sanctioned strength of judges, both at the district courts and the High Courts.
During his 16-month stint as the head of the Supreme Court Collegium, Chief Justice Ramana suggested the appointment of 255 judicial officials and attorneys as High Court judges in order to achieve this goal.
11 Supreme Court judges were appointed during CJI Ramana’s tenure as President of the Collegium, among them Justice BV Nagarathna, who will make history as the first female CJI in 2027. During his presidency, 15 Chief Justices were appointed to various High Courts.
On Friday, as departing Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana took his final seat at the Supreme Court, emotional scenes played out in the CJI’s courtroom. After serving on the Supreme Court for almost 8 years, Chief Justice Ramana is stepping down today.
Dushyant Dave, a senior attorney and past president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), who was in the court to say goodbye to the judge, sobbed as he talked.
While delivering Justice S B Sinha’s inaugural lecture at Judicial Academy here in the presence of Jharkhand High Court judges, faculties and students of NUSRL among others, he shared the problems of judges. He expressed concern over the attacks on judges and outrage over the irresponsible journalism and explained the importance of the Judiciary.
Whether it’s human and societal relationships; Strengthening subordinate judiciary; freedom of the press; concern over media trials or the duty of police, the CJI talked about everything.
Landmark Judgments:
Sedition: The colonial-era sedition statute was suspended in a landmark decision on July 15 of last year, and the Central government and States were urged not to file any prosecutions under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, which makes sedition a crime.
After 75 years of independence, CJI Ramana questioned the administration about the necessity of a sedition law. He emphasised how sedition laws were applied to oppress freedom fighters like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi.
Pegasus snooping: When the Pegasus snooping controversy reached the Supreme Court last year, CJI Ramana subsequently established a committee to investigate the claims that the government used the Israeli espionage programme Pegasus.
He had criticised the Central government for using national security as an excuse for not submitting a thorough affidavit on the subject.
Freebies: In view of the complexity of the situation, the Supreme Court ruled that the appeal against freebies made by political parties prior to elections must be heard by a three-judge bench.
A bench including Justices Hima Kohli, CT Ravikumar, and outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana suggested that the 2013 ruling in Subramaniam Balaji v. Govt. of Tamil Nadu may need to be re-examined.
Interestingly, during the tenure of CJI Ramana, not a single Constitution bench matter was taken up for hearing.
Ramana worked as a Supreme Court judge for eight years before being named CJI. He served as the chief justice of both the Andhra Pradesh High Court and the Delhi High Court.
