Everything about CJI NV Ramana's tenure and legacy

Justice NV Ramana India's 48th chief justice took charge in April of 2021 and will retire on August 28. While his tenure stretched across 16 months, one would struggle to find noteworthy judgments that clarified on constitutional law. However, what does come to mind, are the speeches given on public platforms.

In one such speech, he reflected on the trust deficit in the judiciary by saying – "In my humble view, in the absence of judicial review, people's faith in our constitution would have diminished."

In another such speech at NALSA, he reflected on the need for police reform, noting that the threat to human rights is at its highest in police stations.

While his speeches may have been thought-provoking, they did little to effect any significant change. What many expected, was for him to hear and decide long pending matters affecting politics, civil rights, and constitutional law.

Key cases such as the challenge to abrogation of Article 370, plea questioning electoral bonds, and petitions against the constitutionality of the Citizen Amendment Act have not been heard for over a year.

Moreover, despite dozens of cases and public criticism, CJI made no move to hear the pleas challenging the UAPA. In fact, the plea against the Hijab ban, which was filed in March has not been heard even once.

He was responsible for constituting an expert panel on the Pegasus case while directing that the Centre cannot use the bogey of national security to silence judicial inquiry. But it seems to have had little effect, with the technical committee also reporting that the Centre refused to clarify on use of Pegasus again citing national security.

CJI Ramana can claim credit for staying the infamous sedition provisions. He also moved swiftly to cancel the bail of union minister Ajay Mishra's son  Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. The last few days were busy for him. He issued notice on plea against the remission of sentence of 11 rapists in the Bilkis Bano case.

He also red-flagged Supreme Court's own PMLA judgment, pointing out some aspects that need to be reviewed. He also launched a debate on electoral freebies but has left it open for the apex court to decide later.

On the administrative side, to his credit is the filling of 224 vacancies in various High Courts. He was also responsible for the elevation of justice BV Nagarathna, who is likely to become the first female Chief Justice of India in 2027.

Also Read: On retirement day, CJI NV Ramana dwelled on these 5 high-profile cases that were livestreamed in a first