Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Tuesday recommended the Supreme Court ‘s judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the new Chief Justice of the country. Chief Justice Dipak Misra is retiring on October 2. The 46th Chief Judge of the country will be sworn in on October 3. Justice Gogoi hails from Assam will be the first Chief Justice of the country from Northeast India.
Who is Ranjan Gogoi?
Born in 1954, Ranjan Gogoi hails from Assam and started his career in the year 1978 as an advocate in the Guwahati High Court. On February 28, 2001, he was made the judge in the Guwahati High Court.
He was made the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court on 12 February 2011. He was promoted to Supreme Court on April 2012.
In 2016, Justice Gogoi made the headlines when he sent a notice of contempt to retired judge Supreme Court Markandey Katju. Justice Katju had criticized the verdict given by the top court in the Soumya Rape and Murder case in one of his Facebook posts. In this verdict, the Supreme Court convicted the accused of rape, but not murder. The matter was decided by a bench chaired by Justice Gogoi. Justice Katju appeared in the Supreme Court and apologized for his Facebook post.
Justice Gogoi is monitoring the process of updating the NCR (National Register of Citizens). Justice Gogoi and Justice Nariman have played a major role behind NRC.
Judge Ranjan Gogoi was one of the four judges who questioned the Supreme Court’s system last year. He questioned the administration of the Supreme Court and the independence of the judiciary. This move of Justice Gogoi was considered as a very bold move. There was speculation that he would not be recommended as CJI.
