S.H. Kapadia, 62, is sworn in as 38th CJI

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and newly-appointed Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Wedn

Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of India by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil in a simple ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. The 62-year-old rose to hold the highest constitutional post of the country’s judiciary from a humble background and is the 38th Chief Justice of India.

Born in a Parsi family on September 29, 1947, he will hold the post for over two years, till September 29, 2012. He has succeeded CJI K.G. Balakrishnan, the first dalit CJI, who demitted office Wednesday forenoon.
The swearing-in was attended by vice-president Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, outgoing CJI K.G. Balakrishnan, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and several Central ministers. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and several jurists, including present and former Supreme Court judges, were among those who attended.
Soon after the brief function, Justice Kapadia drove down straight to the Supreme Court from Raisina Hill to resume judicial work. The CJI also refused to entertain any “oral mentioning” of cases outside the routine mentioning list drawn for the day, making it plain to lawyers that for urgent hearing of any case it has to be first listed in the mentioning roster.
An interesting aspect of Justice Kapadia’s humble beginnings not known to many in the legal fraternity was revealed in a letter he wrote to former SC judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, who got it published in the media that he had started his career as a Class IV employee and his “integrity” is his only asset.
Justice Iyer, also known for his unimpeachable integrity as a judge and for espousing the cause of the downtrodden and human rights, has pinned his hopes on Justice Kapadia’s capabilities to restore the faith of the common man in the judiciary, which was eroded due to allegations of corruption against some judges over the past few years.
Justice Kapadia, who has been a Supreme Court judge for the last seven years, brings with him a rich knowledge of commercial laws to the top court at a time when the economy is supposed to determine the fate of the nation.
His contribution in handling the 1991 securities scam cases as head of the special bench in the Bombay high court, and his report to the joint parliamentary committee and RBI on securities scam-related issues, are considered of immense value for plugging the loopholes in subsequent legislation to regulate the capital market.
Justice Kapadia of his own admission revealed that he has a keen interest in economics, public financing and theoretical physics. He revealed he has a deep interest in learning about Hindu and Buddhist philosophies.