Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana will retire on 26 August. He has recommended the name of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit for the next CJI as his successor today. If Justice Ramana's recommendation is accepted, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit will become the 49th CJI of the country.

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Justice Lalit's tenure as the next CJI will be less than three months as he retires on November 8 this year.

After his appointment, Justice Lalit will become the second CJI to be directly elevated to the top court Bench from the Bar, after Justice SM Sikri, who served as the 13th CJI in 1971.

Who is Justice Uday Umesh Lalit?

Born November 9, 1957, Justice Lalit practiced as an advocate in the Bombay High Court from 1983 to 1985 before moving to the national capital, Delhi. Lalit was designated senior lawyer by the Supreme Court in April, 2004. Within a decade, he was appointed a Supreme Court judge on August 13, 2014. Before being recommended to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge by the Bar, Lalit conducted the trial in 2G matters as a special public prosecutor for the CBI. CJI NV Ramana Recommends Justice UU Lalit As Next Chief Justice of India

Some of His Notable Cases

As an apex court judge, Lalit's landmark hearings include the "triple talaq" case. He was part of a five-judge bench that by a 3-2 majority in 2017 ruled that the practice was "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

He recused himself from the Ayodhya hearing because he had appeared for former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in a case related to the Babri Masjid demolition.

Last year, a bench led by Lalit had reversed the Bombay High Court's controversial "skin to skin" ruling. Supreme Court’s Nod to Anti-Money Laundering Law ‘Dangerous Verdict’, Say Opposition Parties in a Joint Statement

The High Court had held that “skin-to-skin contact” between an accused person and a child was required to make a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.  The Supreme Court had said the judgement would set a dangerous precedent.

In July this year, a bench comprising Justice UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha had sentenced fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya to four month jail in contempt of court case. Mallya was held guilty of contempt for disbursing $40 million to his family members in violation of the court orders.

The order not to make immediate arrest under the SC/ST Atrocities Act was also given by a bench headed by Justice Lalit. The court had also ordered to register a case only after preliminary inquiry on the complaints coming under this Act. However, later the central government changed the law and reinstated the provision of immediate arrest.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2022 08:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).