After Ayodhya Verdict, SC Bench Of Justice Gogoi To Pronounce Orders On Sabarimala, Rafale This Week

With less than a week to go for his retirement, outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Ranjan Gogoi has his hands full this week.

With the highly anticipated verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case delivered on Saturday, the focus now shifts to the other high profile cases in front of him.

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Incidentally, one of the cases that a bench headed by Justice Gogoi gives its verdict this week is also related to a temple and Hindu religion.

The five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Gogoi will pronounce judgement on the pleas seeking review of the top court's verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

Last year, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by then CJI Dipak Misra had ordered that held that women of all ages should be allowed to enter the shrine. The court had held that not allowing women in their ¡°menstruating years¡± into the Sabarimala is ultra vires the constitution.

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However, the order caused much resistance and violence in Kerala and even some women who tried to enter the shrine faced physical assaults. A total of 65 review petitions were filed against the order. The order on the review petitions is expected this week.

Another politically sensitive case in which the verdict is due is on a review that has been sought of the December 14, 2018 judgement by which the Modi government was given a clean chit in the procurement of Rafale jet fighter.

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His bench will also pronounce its verdict on a plea seeking criminal contempt proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for wrongly attributing to the apex court his "chowkidar chor hai" remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Rafale case.

The fourth case is about bringing the office of CJI under RTI. On April 4, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Gogoi had also reserved its verdict on three appeals filed in 2010 by the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court and its Central Public Information officer against the Delhi High Court order that the CJI's office falls under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

Verdict in all the four cases is expected between the 12th and 15th of this month.

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Justice Gogoi who assumed office as the 46th Chief Justice of India in October 2018 will retire on November 17. He will be replaced by Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde as the topmost jurist in the country.