CJI Gavai recommends appointment of Justice Surya Kant as next CJI
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New Delhi (PTI): Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has recommended to the Centre the name of Justice Surya Kant as the next CJI.
Justice Surya Kant, the second senior-most Supreme Court judge after the incumbent CJI Gavai, is set to become the 53rd chief justice of India on November 24 after CJI Gavai's retirement on November 23.
CJI Gavai, who was sworn in on May 14 this year, recommended to the Union law ministry to appoint Justice Surya Kant as the next CJI, sources said.
Justice Surya Kant, who was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, would have a tenure of over 1.2 years as the CJI. He is due to retire on February 9, 2027.
The retirement age of Supreme Court judges is 65 years.
According to the memorandum of procedure, a set of documents, which guide the appointment, transfer and elevation of Supreme Court and high court judges, states that appointment to the office of the chief justice of India should be the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office.
The Union law minister would, "at the appropriate time", seek the recommendation of the outgoing CJI for the appointment of his successor.
Conventionally, the letter is sent a month before the incumbent CJI retires on attaining the age of 65 years.
Justice Surya Kant, born in a middle-class family on February 10, 1962, in Hisar district of Haryana, became a top court judge on May 24, 2019.
Justice Surya Kant brings to the country's top judicial office a wealth of experience spanning two decades on the bench, marked by landmark verdicts on abrogation of Article 370, free speech, democracy, corruption, environment and gender equality.
Justice Surya Kant was part of the bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance, directing that no new FIRs be registered under it until a government review.
In an order that underlined transparency in the poll process, he nudged the Election Commission to disclose the details of 65 lakh names excluded from the draft electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
Justice Surya Kant is also credited with directing that one-third of seats in bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, be reserved for women.
He upheld the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme for defence forces, calling it constitutionally valid, and continues to hear petitions of women officers in the armed forces seeking parity in permanent commission.
Justice Surya Kant was on the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University judgment, opening the way for reconsideration of the institution's minority status.
He was part of the bench that heard the Pegasus spyware case, which appointed a panel of cyber experts to probe allegations of unlawful surveillance, famously stating that the state cannot get a "free pass under the guise of national security."
Justice Surya Kant was part of the bench that appointed a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2022 Punjab visit, saying such matters required "a judicially trained mind."
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Businessman lured by FB friend, attacked for extortion in K'taka; 4 held
Madikeri (Karnataka) (PTI): Four people were arrested for allegedly assaulting, illegally confining and attempting to extort money from a 39-year-old businessman who was lured through a honeytrap set up on social media, police said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Rachana, Malati, Darshan and Ravi.
Police said efforts are underway to nab the remaining suspects involved in the incident, which occurred on December 12 in Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu.
According to the complaint, the victim, a resident of Maddur taluk in Mandya district, was befriended by a woman identified as Rachana through Facebook, who later sought financial assistance and received Rs 5,000 from him via PhonePe on November 28.
When he asked her to return the money, the woman allegedly asked him to travel to Mysuru or Kushalnagar, promising to meet him.
The police said the woman later called the victim to Madikeri on December 12 and took him to a house near the market area, where they spent some time and consumed alcohol in the evening.
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Later that night, citing an emergency, the woman left the house. After her departure, three men allegedly broke into the house and attacked the victim, assaulting him with a stick and the handle of a sword, causing injuries to his face, mouth, chest and leg, the FIR stated.
The complainant alleged that he was forcibly confined, stripped and a nude video of him was recorded. The accused also allegedly threatened him with a toy gun, demanding Rs 50 lakh and warning that the video would be uploaded on social media if the money was not paid.
Police said the victim was held captive and somehow managed to escape in the early hours of December 13. However, after he escaped, the accused allegedly attempted to kidnap him in an autorickshaw, an incident that was captured on CCTV cameras.
Based on his complaint at the Madikeri Town police station, a case was registered under Sections 310(2) (dacoity), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a senior police officer said.
“Four accused, including two women, have been arrested. Efforts are on to nab two more absconding accused. Further investigation is on,” he added.
