Who Is Justice NV Ramana, Next Chief Justice Of India, And Why Is His Appointment Controversial

Chief Justice of India Justice SA Bobde recommended the name of senior-most Supreme Court judge Justice NV Ramana as his successor.

Justice Bobde who is set to leave office next month sent the recommendation to the Law and Justice Ministry and handed over a copy to Justice Ramana.

As per norms, a written communication from the incumbent Chief Justice is sent a month before his retirement.

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If the recommendation is approved by the government, Justice Ramana will take charge as the 48th Chief Justice of India on April 24. Justice Ramana is due to retire on August 26, 2022.

Who is Justice Ramana?

Justice Bobde who became the CJI in November 2019 will be the first in over five years to retire without making any appointments to the SC.

Though Justice's Ramana name being recommended was just a formality by the outgoing CJI, it has been controversial nevertheless.

The recommendation came on the same day when the Supreme Court made public its decision to dismiss a complaint of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy against Justice Ramana after giving the matter "due consideration".

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According to reports, the in-house panel, headed by Justice Bobde, found Jagan¡¯s allegations ¡°extremely malicious, motivated and frivolous with an intention to browbeat the entire judicial system¡±.

Earlier, Reddy in a letter had claimed that Justice Ramana was working against the elected government in Andhra Pradesh and in favour of the opposition Telugu Desam Party of former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

He had also alleged that Ramana and his relatives were linked to the Amaravati land scam case.

In an FIR registered at the office of the Director-General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Guntur in last November, daughters of Justice Ramana were accused of criminal conspiracy to illegally purchase premium land in Amaravati, which the then TDP government was developing and the state's new capital.

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Last week the Andhra Pradesh High Court had stayed the FIR against Naidu in the case.

Justice Ramana, who was born in Ponnavaram village of Andhra Pradesh¡¯s Krishna district began his career as a journalist before taking up law.

He was also a student leader who fought for civil liberties during the nationwide Emergency.

He was appointed a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh high court in 2000 and was elevated as chief justice of the Delhi high court in 2013. On February 17, 2014, he was elevated as a Supreme Court judge.