Justice Bobde, the next CJI, handled several key cases

New Delhi: Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, second seniormost judge of the Supreme Court who will be the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), is recognised for handling several important matters, including the Ayodhya land dispute case — judgement for which is awaited.

Justice Bobde will take charge as the 47th CJI on November 18, a day after incumbent Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires. He will be the CJI for around 18 months and retire on April 23, 2021.

Bobde is part of the five-judge Constitution Bench dealing with the Ayodhya land dispute case, one of the longest running legal battle.

He has also handled one of the most controversial cases related to allegations of sexual harassment against CJI Gogoi. The in-house Bench, headed by Justice Bobde, has given a clean chit to Justice Gogoi, saying “no substance” was found in the allegation levelled by a former employee.

Justice Bobde was part of a nine-judge Bench that declared in August 2017 the right to privacy as a fundamental right of an individual.

He was also part of the three-judge Bench, which in 2015 had clarified that no citizen without an Aadhaar card could be deprived of basic services and government subsidies.

As a member of the two-judge Bench in 2017, he had dismissed the Lingayat community’s spiritual head Mate Mahadevi’s appeal against ban on sale and circulation of her book, and upheld the Karnataka government decision to proscribe the book as it had outraged the religious feelings of Lord Basavanna’s followers.

He, as a part of the Bench that directed On October 22 the Committee of Administrators (CoA), appointed by the court to run the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), to demit the office as its term ended once the new office-bearers took charge.

Born on April 24, 1956 at Nagpur in Maharashtra, Justice Bobde belongs to a family of lawyers. His father Arvind Shriniwas Bobde was an eminent senior advocate.

He completed graduation and obtained a law degree from the Nagpur University. Enrolled in the Bar Council of Maharashtra in 1978, he was designated as Senior Advocate in 1998.

His career as judge began on March 29, 2000 with appointment as Additional Judge in the Bombay High Court. He was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on October 16, 2012.

He was elevated to the Supreme Court on April 12, 2013.

CJI Gogoi on October 18 recommended Justice Bobde as his successor. His Warrant of Appointment was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind following which the Law Ministry issued a notification on Tuesday naming him as the next Chief Justice of India.

 Published on: Oct 29, 2019 at 19:12 IST

IANS