The appointment of Justice NV Ramana as the 48th Chief Justice of India has been finalized. In the wake of the current CJ Justice SA Bobde retiring on April 23, he has sent a letter to the Central Judiciary as per the rules proposing NV Ramana as his successor according to seniority. To this extent, the seal of approval of the President has been given. Justice NV Ramana will take over as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on April 24. Justice NV Ramana is the second Chief Justice of India from AP to assume the top post. Earlier, Justice Koka Subbarao had served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
From a simple family of farmers
As far as Justice NV Ramana is concerned, he will continue in the post till August 26, 2022, as CJ of the Supreme Court. Justice NV Ramana’s full name is Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana. He was born on 27 August 1957 in Ponnavaram village in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. His parents were from a simple farming family. Having worked in various capacities, NV Ramana had enrolled in the Bar Association on February 10, 1983. Appointed as a Joint AP High Court Judge on 27 June 2000. Later rose to become the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and a judge of the Supreme Court.
Overcoming troubles
Usually, it is a matter of immense pride for the state if a person takes over the top post of the CJI. However, there were some difficulties in the case of Justice NV Ramana. AP CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy wrote a letter to CJI SA Bobde making several allegations against Justice NV Ramana, who is a Supreme Court judge. The YSRCP government also leaked the letter to the media. This topic has turned sensational with heated debates being held across the country. Justice NV Ramana was alleged by the YSRCP government of influencing the AP high courts and that his relatives had bought land in Amravati. The apex court, which conducted an internal inquiry into the matter, said it was recommending Justice NV Ramana as the next CJI.
Political vendetta
However, it has been propagated in some political circles that allegations were made entirely by the YS Jagan faction. It is also rumoured that a man who had previously served at the national level was also behind the allegations. On the whole, Justice NV Ramana will serve as the Supreme Court Judge having faced several setbacks. It would be a mistake to think that Justice NV Ramana should be given this status only on the basis of seniority. The judgments he gave were accompanied by dedication. Having judged and given verdicts in over 13,000 cases in his career, the verdict given by Justice NV Ramana in the case of women has become a topic of discussion all over the world.
Housewives too are entitled to get a salary
A couple who had two children died in an accident in Delhi in 2014. The husband is a lecturer and the wife is a housewife. However, the family of the victims approached the court as the insurance company refused to pay compensation even though they already had insurance. However, a tribunal ordered to pay Rs 40.17 lakh as insurance compensation to the family. On the other hand, the insurance company argued that if the deceased’s income is taken into account, there will be no insurance compensation as only one person has been earning in the family. When the case was challenged in Delhi High Court, the compensation of Rs 40.17 lakh was reduced to Rs 22 lakh.
The victim’s family then approached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court made key remarks in the trial of this case. The Court said that the work done by housewives should be considered as an income, and that housewives are working hard to support family members in all sorts of ways, in their job and employment avenues, and that the argument that housewives have no income is meaningless. The court ruled that compensation should be paid in this case. The insurance company has decided to pay Rs 30.20 lakh plus 9 per cent interest, indicating that the housewife’s chores cannot be ignored and must be taken as income. The apex court also indirectly directed the insurance companies to formulate guidelines to this effect. The Supreme Court bench of Justice NV Ramana and Justice Surya Kant made key remarks that housework done by women is not inferior to the job done by the husband. Not only that … Justice NV Ramana also expressed the same view in the Lata Wadhwa case in 2001. NV Ramana commented that in our country where women do more household chores than men, the good and the bad are shouldered in the family and it is challenging to manage the expenses like food, clothing, house cleaning, looking after the needs of the children and adapting to the income earned.
Considering a few more judgments
In the case of Central Public Information Officer vs Subhash Chandra Agarwal, Justice NV Ramana was also present in the Constitutional Tribunal which ruled that the office of the Supreme Court CJ also falls under the Right to Information Act in the 2019 case. In 2016 the Constitutional Tribunal gave a key verdict in the case of Nabam Rebia, Bamang Felix VS Deputy Speaker. Justice Ramana was one of the judges on the bench who quashed the orders of the state governor to adjourn the assembly for a month without consulting the chief minister, cabinet and speakers. 4G services in Jammu and Kashmir have been suspended following the repeal of Article 370. The bench headed by Justice Ramana ruled that 4G mobile internet should be allowed in the case of Foundation for Media Professionals vs Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In the case of MD Anwar vs NCT of Delhi, 2020, the court ruled that proper evidence should be submitted to the court in cases such as mental illness and lack of insanity. The bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, SA Nazir and Suryakant explained the definition of mental disorders. Not just these, Justice NV Ramana also played a key role in the tribunals that gave key judgments on state-central tax disputes, river water disputes, economic freedom of the states and so on.
