Former Chief Justice of India
NAME- Rajendra Mal Lodha
PROFESSION- Judge
BORN- 28/09/1949
PLACE OF BIRTH- Jodhpur, Rajasthan
FATHER’S NAME- Srikrishna Mal Lodha
MOTHER’S NAME- N/A
SPOUSE- Sudha Lodha
SIBILINGS- N/A
CHILDREN- 2
EDUCATION-
Completed BSc from Jodhpur University
Obtained LLB degree from Jodhpur University
AWARDS- N/A
SPECIALISATION- N/A
COMMITTEE/PANEL HEADED- Lodha committee on the improvement of BCCI
BACKGROUND- R. M. Lodha was the 41st Chief Justice of India. He started his career as a lawyer in the year 1973 and later on was appointed as India’s Chief Justice on 27/04/2014.
R. M. Lodha was born in the family of lawyers. His father was Rajasthan High Court Judge. After obtaining his LLB degree from Jodhpur University he enrolled as an advocate in the year 1973 with Rajasthan Bar Council. He practiced in the Rajasthan High Court and dealt with Constitutional, Criminal, Civil, Company, Labour, etc. Many a times, as special counsel, he represented Rajasthan Government in significant matters.
In the year 1994, he was appointed as Permanent Judge of the High Court of Rajasthan. Within 15 days of serving as Rajasthan High Court Judge, he was transferred to Bombay High Court. He was Judge of Bombay High Court for 13 years. When he was at Bombay High Court, he was involved in administration of the High Court of Bombay as chairman of many important committees, as Senior Administrative Judge, etc. He was also the chairman of Advisory Board formed under COFEPOSA Act of 1974 and M. P. D. A. Act of 1981.
In the year 2007, he was again transferred to Rajasthan High Court. He served as administrative Judge of the High Court of Rajasthan. He was the executive Chairman of NLU, Jodhpur. He was also the Chairman of Rajasthan State Judicial Academy. In 2008, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.
On 17/12/2008, he was sworn in as the permanent Judge of the apex court of India. On 27/4/2014, he became the 41st Chief Justice of India. He retired from Supreme Court on 27/09/2014. After retirement, he headed the Lodha Committee, the committee formed for analysing and recommending actions for improvement of BCCI.
CAREER TIMELINE-
1973- Enrolled as an advocate and practiced in the High Court of Rajasthan
1994- Appointed as Permanent Judge of the High court of Rajasthan on 31/01/1994. Within few days, that is, on 16/02/1994, he was transferred to Bombay High Court.
2007- He was once again transferred to Rajasthan High Court on 02/02/2007
2008- Sworn in as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court on 13/05/2008. On 17/12/2008, he became the Judge of the Supreme Court.
2014- Elevated as the Chief Justice of India. He retired on 27/09/2014.
2015- Headed the Lodha Committee
LANDMARK JUDGEMENTS-
Dr Subramanian Swamy vs Director, CBI & Anr. –
In this case, in view of the Indian Constitution, section 6A of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1994 was struck down. Section 6A gives permission to the government acting at centre to allow investigation by Delhi Police special force in cases where wrong committed comes under Prevention of Corruption Act of 19988.
This section was struck down because it was in contravention to Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. The court through this case, also declared section 26(c) of Central Vigilance Commission Act of 2003 as invalid because it was also in contrary with Constitution of India.
Manohar Lal Sharma vs The Principal Secretary & Others-
The Supreme Court, in this case, ruled around 200 coal allocations as illegal which were made from year 1993 to 2009. The court held that Government lacked the authority to assign coal blocks to any private companies.
The Court further said that though the government allocated on the recommendation of the screening committee, the allocation was improper and arbitrary. This improper allocation led to unfair distribution of resources which indeed is national wealth. So, all the coal allocations were cancelled and fine were imposed on the allottees who extracted the coal.
The court further held that the companies which are participating in any government contract need to ensure that contract securing process is as per the law or procedure established by law.
CONTROVERSIES- N/A
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT- N/A