The hon’ble Chief Justice of India H L Dattu had started the steps for appointing Justice T S Thakur as his successor. The Chief Justice had sent a letter to the Central Government with the recommendation that Justice Thakur as the senior most judge of the Supreme Court be appointed as the next CJI. This is a traditional practice that is followed by all the Chief Justices of India. Justice Dattu will be traveling to Australia to be a part of the conference of Asia-Pacific region chief justices after completing the process of appointing Justice Thakur. The Ministry of Law will send the file to the office of the Prime Minister after approval. Thereafter file will be sent to the president for approval. The Warrant of Appointment will be issued subsequent to President’s approval.
Justice Tirath Singh Thakur is a soft-spoken but generous person who will turn 64 in the coming January. He will be the 43rd Chief Justice when taking charge on 2nd December. On the same day the present CJI, H L Dattu will retire from service. Justice Thakur will retire from service in January 2017 after his service as CJ for one year and one month. He was born as the son of a famous lawyer D D Thakur who was also a High Court Judge of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice T S Thakur enrolled on October 1972 as an advocate. In the High Court he dealt with civil, criminal, taxation, constitutional and service laws. In 1990, he was given the designation as senior advocate. He became acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in 2008 and was appointed as the Chief Justice of High Court of Punjab and Haryana later. In 2009, he was elevated as the Judge of highest judiciary of the nation. Justice Thakur is the second judge to be appointed as the CJI from Jammu and Kashmir, the first being Justice A S Anand.
Adv. Jewel Panicker