Ranjan Gogoi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ranjan Gogoi
|
|
|---|---|
Gogoi in November 2019
|
|
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| Assumed office 17 March 2020 |
|
| Nominated by | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Appointed by | M. Venkaiah Naidu |
| Constituency | Nominated (Law) |
| 46th Chief Justice of India | |
| In office 3 October 2018 – 17 November 2019 |
|
| Appointed by | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Preceded by | Dipak Misra |
| Succeeded by | Sharad Arvind Bobde |
| Judge of the Supreme Court of India | |
| In office 23 April 2012 – 2 October 2018 |
|
| Nominated by | S. H. Kapadia |
| Appointed by | Pratibha Patil |
| 30th Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court | |
| In office 12 February 2011 – 23 April 2012 |
|
| Nominated by | S. H. Kapadia |
| Appointed by | Pratibha Patil |
| Preceded by | Mukul Mudgal |
| Succeeded by | A. K. Sikri |
| Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court | |
| In office 9 September 2010 – 11 February 2011 |
|
| Nominated by | S. H. Kapadia |
| Appointed by | Pratibha Patil |
| Judge of the Gauhati High Court | |
| In office 28 February 2001 – 8 September 2010 |
|
| Nominated by | Adarsh Sein Anand |
| Appointed by | K. R. Narayanan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 November 1954 Dibrugarh, Assam, India |
| Spouse | Rupanjali Gogoi |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Shrinjan Rajkumar Gohain (cousin) |
| Alma mater | Faculty of Law, University of Delhi |
| Occupation |
|
| Awards | Assam Baibhav (2023) |
Ranjan Gogoi (born 18 November 1954) is an Indian jurist (an expert in law) and politician. He served as the 46th Chief Justice of India from 2018 to 2019. He is the first person from Northeast India to hold this top judicial position.
After retiring as a judge, he became a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament. He was nominated by President Ram Nath Kovind in March 2020.
Gogoi is known for his "no-nonsense" approach as a judge. He worked to make the court system more efficient. He was part of many important decisions, including the one on the Ayodhya dispute. His career has been both praised and debated. In 2019, The Indian Express named him the third most powerful person in India.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Ranjan Gogoi was born in Dibrugarh, Assam, into a well-known family. His father, Kesab Chandra Gogoi, was the Chief Minister of Assam for a short time in 1982. This makes Ranjan Gogoi the only Chief Justice of India whose father was a Chief Minister.
His mother, Shanti Priya Gogoi, was a social activist who started a non-profit group called SEWA. His family has a long history in politics and public service. His grandmother, Padma Kumari Gohain, was one of the first women to be a minister in Assam.
Gogoi attended Don Bosco School in Dibrugarh. He later studied history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He first planned to join the civil services. However, he later decided to study law at the University of Delhi.
Career as a Judge
Gogoi started his law career in 1978 at the Gauhati High Court. He became a permanent judge there in 2001. He was known for being efficient. He once grouped together 10,000 similar cases from the education department to solve them faster.
In 2010, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He became its Chief Justice in 2011.
Supreme Court of India
In 2012, Gogoi was promoted to be a judge of the Supreme Court of India. During his time there, he was part of many important rulings. For example, he was on the bench that created special courts to handle cases against politicians.
2018 Supreme Court Press Conference
On 12 January 2018, Gogoi and three other senior judges held a press conference. This was a very unusual event. They spoke about their concerns with how cases were being assigned in the Supreme Court. They felt the system needed to be more transparent. This event started a national conversation about how the judiciary works.
Chief Justice of India
On 3 October 2018, Ranjan Gogoi became the 46th Chief Justice of India. He was sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind. As Chief Justice, he focused on reducing the number of pending cases. He asked judges not to take leave on workdays. He also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ask for more judges to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
During his time as Chief Justice, a former Supreme Court employee made serious accusations against him. An internal committee of judges investigated the matter and found no substance in the allegations.
Major Court Decisions
As a judge, Ranjan Gogoi was involved in many landmark cases that affected the country.
Ayodhya Dispute
Perhaps the most famous case of his career was the Ayodhya dispute. This was a very old and sensitive case about a piece of land claimed by both Hindus and Muslims. On 9 November 2019, a five-judge bench led by Gogoi gave a final decision. The court awarded the land for the building of a Hindu temple. It also ordered that a separate piece of land be given to the Muslim community to build a mosque.
National Register of Citizens (NRC)
Gogoi was part of the bench that supervised the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The goal of the NRC was to identify legal citizens of India living in the state. This was a complex and controversial process.
Other Important Cases
- Politicians in Ads: In 2015, his bench banned the use of politicians' photos in government ads. The ruling said this could create a "personality cult." The rule was later changed to allow photos of Chief Ministers and other ministers.
- Special Courts for Politicians: His bench ordered the government to set up special courts. These courts would quickly handle criminal cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
- CJI's Office and RTI: A bench led by Gogoi ruled that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This means citizens can ask for information about the office, promoting transparency.
Member of the Rajya Sabha
Four months after retiring as Chief Justice, Gogoi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in March 2020. The President of India can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha for their contributions to fields like art, science, and social service.
His nomination was debated across the country. Some people felt that a former Chief Justice should not take a political position so soon after retiring. They worried it could affect the public's trust in the independence of the judiciary.
Gogoi defended his decision. He said he accepted the role because he believed the judiciary and the legislature should work together for the good of the nation. He is the third Supreme Court judge to serve in the Rajya Sabha, but the first to be nominated directly by the President.
In August 2023, he gave his first speech in the Rajya Sabha. He spoke in support of a bill related to the governance of Delhi.
Personal Life
Ranjan Gogoi is married to Rupanjali Gogoi. They have a son and a daughter, who are both lawyers.
He wrote an autobiography called Justice for the Judge, which was published in 2021. In 2024, he received the Assam Baibhav, the highest civilian award of the state of Assam, for his work in law and justice.
See also
- List of current members of the Rajya Sabha
- List of nominated members of the Rajya Sabha
- List of former judges of the Supreme Court of India
