Former CJI RC Lahoti passes away, he was 81

Former Chief Justice of India Ramesh Chandra Lahoti passed away on Wednesday evening. He held the office of the Chief Justice from June 1, 2004 to May 1, 2005.

He is survived by wife Kaushalya Lahoti.

Ramesh Chandra Lahoti was born on November 1, 1940. He joined the Bar in District Guna in 1960 and enrolled as an Advocate in 1962.

In April, 1977, he was recruited directly from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service and was appointed as a District & Sessions Judge. After functioning as District and Sessions Judge for a year, Justice Lahoti resigned in May, 1978 and reverted to the Bar for practice mainly in the High Court.

He was appointed Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 3.5.1988 and made permanent Judge on 4.8.1989, Justice Lahoti was transferred to Delhi High Court on 7.2.94. He was appointed as a Judge of Supreme Court of India on 9.12.1998.

Justice Lahoti, a noted jurist, is economic with words and probably the least vocal among recent Chief Justices. He served one of the longest terms as Chief Justice in recent years, retiring from office after 17 months.

In November 2004, Chief Justice Lahoti, broke ground with many of his predecessors who had expressed concern about the growing corruption within the judiciary, by proclaiming that the judiciary in India was ‘clean’. This was an astounding statement, especially in the light of frequent exposés in the media about errant judges across the country.

Chief Justice’s handling of judicial transfers has also attracted controversy. In February 2005, Chief Justice B.K. Roy was transferred from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Guwahati High Court, on Chief Justice Lahoti’s watch.

Lahoti was transferred to the Delhi High Court on February 7, 1994.

Justice Lahoti upheld a Haryana law that did not allow those with more than two children to contest local body elections. He rejected the arguments based on right to privacy and religion.

He quashed the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act on migrants to Assam.

He was on the Advisory Board of the Indian International Model United Nations.

Lahoti served as the 35th Chief Justice of India. He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court on December 9, 1998. He retired on his 65th birthday, giving him a term of 18 months. His predecessor had a term of just one month.

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