Justice RM Lodha from Jodhpur is New Chief Justice of India (CJI)

Rajasthan's Jodhpur born Justice Rajendra Mal (RM) Lodha is New Chief Justice of India (CJI). He was administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukharjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. At 64, Justice Lodha is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after Justice Sathasivam. He will have a brief tenure of five months as the Chief Justice as he is scheduled to retire on September 27. He has handled sensitive cases in the Supreme Court and is presently heading the bench monitoring the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the coal scam.

Born on September 28, 1949 in Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Justice Lodha is the son of former Rajasthan High Court judge Justice S.K. Mal Lodha. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Rajasthan in February, 1973 and practiced law in the Rajasthan High Court, dealing with constitutional, civil, company, criminal, taxation and labour matters etc. He was elevated as a permanent judge of the Rajasthan High Court on January 31, 1994 and transferred to the Bombay High Court on February 16, 1994. He was a judge of the Bombay High Court for thirteen years, and sat on almost all jurisdictions. He was re-transferred to the Rajasthan High Court, where he assumed office on February 2, 2007. His other appointments included being Administrative Judge of the Rajasthan High Court and Chairman, State Judicial Academy, Rajasthan.