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Justice Ramana's appointment as CJI may make AP CM uncomfortable

By MK Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan- 24 Mar 2021
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New Delhi (24.03.2021): Bad news for AP CM Jaganmohan Reddy.

If President Ram Nath Kovind is pleased to appoint senior-most SC Judge NV Ramana as the successor to CJI SA Bobde who will retire on April 23, 2021, after completing 17 months in the high office, Jagan, who had made unproven charges against Ramana a few months ago, may feel extremely uncomfortable in the ongoing corruption cases against him in the AP HC.

Indianmandarins has learned that Justice Bobde had recommended the name of Justice Ramana when Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad reached out to him through a formal letter last week for his advice.

According to the Memorandum of Procedure governing the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, "appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office".

Justice NV Ramana is second in seniority after CJI Bobde.

If appointed the CJI, Justice Ramana's tenure will last for 16 months till August 26, 2022, with the starting date of April 23, 2021.

Justice Ramana's appointment or non-appointment may reflect Jagan's clout with the NDA administration.

The CJI appointment rules have a particular clause that can be used by the central government to bypass the recommendation of the outgoing CJI. It reads: "Whenever there is any doubt about the fitness of the senior-most Judge to hold the office of the Chief Justice of India, consultation with other Judges…would be made for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India."

Will the GoI invoke this clause to please Jagan? This question will get answered in due course before April 23.

(By MK Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan)

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