DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST FORMER CJI
- Who Are CJI?
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the head of the Indian judiciary and is the highest-ranking judicial officer in the country. The position of CJI is highly esteemed and carries significant responsibility, as the person who holds this office plays a crucial role in shaping the legal landscape of the country.
Over the years, India has had several Chief Justices who have left an indelible mark on the judiciary and the legal system of the country. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most notable CJI’s in Indian history.
H.J. Kania: Justice H.J. Kania was the first Chief Justice of India, serving from 1950 to 1951. He played a pivotal role in establishing the independence and authority of the judiciary in India, and his contributions to the legal field are widely acknowledged.
P.B. Gajendragadkar: Justice P.B. Gajendragadkar served as the Chief Justice of India from 1964 to 1966. During his tenure, he presided over several high-profile cases, including the landmark case of Keshavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, which established the doctrine of basic structure of the Constitution.
H.R. Khanna: Justice H.R. Khanna served as the CJI from 1977 to 1978. He is best known for his role in the famous case of ADM Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla, where he dissented against the majority judgment and upheld the fundamental right to life and liberty, even during a state of emergency.
Y.V. Chandrachud: Justice Y.V. Chandrachud was the Chief Justice of India from 1978 to 1985. During his tenure, he delivered several landmark judgments, including the Shah Bano case, which dealt with the issue of maintenance for divorced Muslim women.
R.S. Pathak: Justice R.S. Pathak served as the CJI from 1986 to 1989. He was known for his strong stance on judicial activism and played an instrumental role in the development of public interest litigation (PIL) in India.
A.S. Anand: Justice A.S. Anand served as the Chief Justice of India from 1998 to 2001. He presided over several important cases, including the Best Bakery case, which dealt with the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002.
K.G. Balakrishnan: Justice K.G. Balakrishnan was the CJI from 2007 to 2010. During his tenure, he focused on improving access to justice and made several reforms to streamline the judicial system in India.
Altamas Kabir: Justice Altamas Kabir served as the Chief Justice of India from 2012 to 2013. He played a key role in the landmark judgment that upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act, which provides for free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 and 14.
Dipak Misra: Justice Dipak Misra was the CJI from 2017 to 2018. During his tenure, he presided over several important cases, including the Triple Talaq case, which dealt with the issue of instant divorce among Muslim men.
Ranjan Gogoi: Justice Ranjan Gogoi served as the Chief Justice of India from 2018 to 2019. He played a key role in several high-profile cases, including the Ayodhya land dispute case and the Rafale fighter jet deal case.
In conclusion, the Chief Justices of India have played a pivotal role in shaping the legal landscape of the country. Their contributions
- Who Is Ranjan Gogoi?
Ranjan Gogoi is a retired Indian judge who served as the 46th Chief Justice of India from October 2018 to November 2019. He was born on November 18, 1954, in Assam, India, and comes from a family of distinguished lawyers and judges. Gogoi began his legal career in 1978 after completing his law degree from Delhi University. He served as a judge in the Gauhati High Court before being elevated to the Supreme Court in 2012.
During his tenure as the Chief Justice of India, Gogoi presided over several high-profile cases, including the Ayodhya land dispute case and the Rafale fighter jet deal case. He also played a key role in the landmark judgment that decriminalized homosexuality in India. However, his tenure was also marked by controversy, particularly with respect to his handling of sexual harassment allegations against him by a former court employee.
Gogoi retired from the Supreme Court in November 2019 and has since been appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
- Why In News?
Aabhijeet Sharma, the president of Assam Public Works (APW), has filed a defamation lawsuit against former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi for allegedly making false and defamatory allegations against him in the Rajya Sabha MP’s autobiography “Justice for the Judge” for Rs 1 crore. Sharma sued Gogoi and Rupa Publications, the company that published his autobiography, for slander.
Additionally, Sharma has filed a petition asking for an injunction to stop Gogoi and the publisher from continuing to publish, distribute, or sell any book that contains false accusations and allegations about him.
The APW president wrote in his petition, “Ranjan Gogoi on page 173 in his autobiography ‘Justice for the Judge’ wrote ‘at the local level, personal attack on the state coordinator of National Register of Citizens (SCNR) Prateek Hajela and veiled attacks on the judges, particularly me, by local politicians and specifically by Aabhijeet Sharma, the President of Assam Public Works (petitioner in W.P(C) No.274
