NEW DELHI — The President of India Droupadi Murmu on Saturday administered the oath of office to Justice U.U. Lalit as the Chief Justice of India.
Justice Lalit took the oath in the name of God in the ceremony held at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, which had the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, previous Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, former President Ramnath Kovind, Supreme Court judges Justices DY Chandrachud, S Abdul Nazeer and other dignitaries, Live Law reported.
The formal notification appointing Justice Lalit as the 49th Chief Justice of India was issued on August 10, following a recommendation made by the previous CJI NV Ramana, who retired on August 26.
Justice Lalit is the second CJI to be elevated to the Supreme Court directly from the Bar. The first was Justice S M Sikri, who became the 13th CJI in January 1971.
As the 49th CJI, Justice Lalit will have a relatively short term of 74 days. He is to retire on 8th November, 2022.