The 48th CJI, who had succeeded SA Bobde, said that the appointment of 11 Supreme Court and 224 High Court judges was a reflection of the coherence and determination to strengthen the judiciary during his tenure, according to news agency PTI.
During his address at the events yesterday, he also expressed regret for not being able to pay much attention to issues of listing and posting matters for hearing in the top court.
He further thanked his colleagues for being able to recommend so many named for judgeships. "All thanks to my collegium judges and consulting judges, who had helped me in appointing 11 judges to the apex court, and 224 high court judges in the last 16 months," he said as quoted by PTI.
In the last 75 years, jurisprudence has evolved considerably, and our judiciary is not defined by a single order or decision. It has only championed the cause of people most of the time, he added.
The Outgoing CJI also stated, "We could make considerable progress over the past 16 months by appointing more women judges and promoting social diversity on the bench. This is the reflection of coherence and determination of the judges to strengthen our institution, to further the goal of justice."
He also expressed satisfaction over his 16-month-long journey as the Chief Justice of India and said that he never claimed himself to be a scholarly judge or a great judge.
"From the very beginning, I was always subjected to conspirational scrutiny. I and my family suffered a lot in silence. However, the truth always prevails. 'Satyameva Jayate'," he added.
Meanwhile, CJI-designated U U Lalit appreciated his predecessor and highlighted his stand-out achievements of appointing over 250 judges across the country in about 14 months.
Attorney General K K Venugopal, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave, and Vikas Singh also paid glowing tributes to the CJI for his contribution to the judiciary.
Dushyant Dave even broke into tears while bidding adieu to CJI Ramana and said that he maintained checks and balances between the judiciary, executive, and Parliament. He also called CJI Ramana a 'citizen's judge'.
For the first time, the Supreme Court of India live streamed its proceedings for the general public. The notice issued by the court on 26 August informed about the live streaming of the ceremonial bench of the Chief Justice court. The live stream ran through the webcast of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
All you need to know about CJI-designate U U Lalit
Chief Justice of India designate, U U Lalit is set to become the 49th Chief Justice of India on Saturday 27 August. On the eve of him taking charge from outgoing CJI N V Ramana, Lalit chalked out three priorities he would endeavor to fulfill during his 74 day tenure.
Justice Lalit said one of the areas in which he intends to work is about the listing of cases before the constitution benches and matters which are specially referred to three-judge benches.
On the issue of listing of matters, he said, "….I must assure you that we will strive hard to make the listing as simple, as clear, and as transparent as possible".
Justice Lalit said it was very heartening and emotional to hear some of the speeches which were given before the ceremonial bench in the morning and it was the most fitting tribute that a person can actually receive.
Justice Lalit will have a brief tenure of less than three months as the CJI and he would retire on November 8 this year. The retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court is 65.
