oppn parties No Controversy: Justice Gogoi Is Next CJI

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
No Controversy: Justice Gogoi Is Next CJI

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2018-09-14 13:57:54

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
It is good that the government has respected the independence of the judiciary and accepted the recommendation of the outgoing CJI Justice Dipka Misra for elevating the senior-most judge, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, as the next CJI from October 3. It lays to rest a controversy that was building around this appointment. Detractors had questioned the motives of the government ever since it had stalled the elevation of Justice K M Joseph to the apex court. Some people had then commented that the government was interfering in the work of the judiciary and will do the same when it comes to the appointment of the next CJI. They were of the opinion that since Justice Gogoi was outspoken and had revolted against the present CJI, the government might supersede him to appoint a judge of its choice.

But with Justice Gogoi’s appointment, it is clear that the government is not trying to influence the judiciary per se. There might be issues which the government feels need reexamination. Justice Joseph’s elevation was one such issue. The government felt that there were other senior judges of competence and then there was the question of regional representation. The law allowed the government to send back the name once for reconsideration. Hence, it had done so in good faith. But people alluded to the fact that Justice Joseph’s appointment was stalled as he had delivered a judgment that went against the BJP government in Uttarakhand. Did not the government appoint him after his name was sent back by the collegium?

Even when there is no malafide intention, a section of the press, in collusion with the so-called liberals, is trying to whip up controversy. In doing so, they are trying to drive a wedge in the relations between the executive and the judiciary. This is not good for democracy. When a group of judges had questioned the CJI on distribution of cases, they had raised a point of law. The press tried to project it as a revolt. It was subsequently cleared that it is the prerogative of the CJI to allot cases as even though he cannot be termed superior to other judges, he is obviously ‘first among equals’. Otherwise, there is no point in having a chief justice. A section of the press had played a very questionable role during that controversy. If the executive and the judiciary are two important pillars of democracy, the media is one too. Hence, it should desist from creating controversies when none exist.