Short Tenure, Big Questions: New Chief Justice UU Lalit Inherits Key Constitutional Cases

The 49th CJI, UU Lalit, is no stranger to big cases, be it as a judge, or as a lawyer before being elevated to the bench in August 2014

The new Chief Justice of India, UU Lalit, will have a short tenure of just about two months and a half, but the Supreme Court under him inherits some of the most far-reaching cases, seeking answers to key constitutional questions.

From the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, to religion as criterion for citizenship, to reservation on economic basis, to the secret electoral bonds that fund political parties — there's a long list of such pending cases, some of them being carried forward through several CJIs' tenures, not just of his immediate predecessor NV Ramana.  

Justice Ramana said in a farewell speech, "Listing and posting of matters is one of the areas on which I could not pay requisite attention. I am sorry for that."

And new CJI Lalit is mindful of that. "I have always believed the role of the Supreme Court is to lay down law with clarity, consistency," he said today. "The best possible way to do it is to have larger benches as early as possible.... so that the issues get clarified immediately."