When he taught law at Panjab University in the 1980s, Jagdish Singh Khehar was a favourite of students. “He was so popular that whenever he taught a class, students from other sections would join in,” said Prof Vijay Nagpal, head of the Department of Law at the university. Khehar’s great sense of humour and his ability to get the students interested in the profession with lessons from his own experience as a lawyer made him so popular, said Nagpal.
These qualities still define Khehar, 64, who is set to be sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of India on January 4, 2017. He will be the first Sikh to occupy the position.
Khehar continues to be a nurturer of young talent at the bar, and there are numerous stories about how he uses his sense of humour to great effect in the court. A recent one is on his unsuccessful effort to get a young lawyer to argue rather than seek an adjournment on behalf of his senior. The junior lawyer insisted on an adjournment despite his repeated exhortation. Exasperated, Khehar remarked that kalyug had really come as the lawyer chose to listen to his senior rather than a Supreme Court judge.
“He encourages young lawyers, and even when they appear in his court merely to get another date of hearing, he asks them to argue,” said Supreme Court lawyer Sneha Kalita. On Miscellaneous Day in the court, when young lawyers appear usually to seek adjournment on behalf of their seniors, he would rather have them argue.
Khehar, however, is ruthless if he feels that a lawyer is unprepared or is seeking adjournment on flimsy grounds. He would insist that the bar keep up high standards of professionalism. “He has the reputation of being a no-nonsense judge and has the capacity to discipline the court,” said former Supreme Court judge K.S. Radhakrishnan.
Earlier this year, Khehar walked out when he felt the lawyers were not well prepared for appearance. “What is happening? Why is everybody in a holiday mood?” he said. He came back 15 minutes later, after being reassured by the lawyers.
He once pulled up the lawyer of former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Neera Yadav, who was convicted in a corruption case, for dropping Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s name. “What do you think, the name should have an effect on us?... Is it a show-off or do you want to influence us? We will not tolerate this,” he angrily responded.
But it is his lighter side that is on display more often than not. Nagpal said when Khehar was a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, an advocate sought adjournment for a week, saying he had stomach pain. “Khehar asked him how he knew that the pain would be gone in a week. He asked him to go see a doctor and posted the matter for the post-lunch session,” said Nagpal.
Recently, he resolved a disagreement between Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and senior lawyer Indira Jaising during a hearing on the division of powers between the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor’s office. “If you consent to a woman, you have to accept it. You cannot back out,” said Khehar, disarming Rohatgi.
After completing his master’s in law from Panjab University in 1979, Khehar practised mainly in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court and the Supreme Court. He was appointed as additional advocate general of Punjab in 1992 and was designated as senior advocate in 1995. He became a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1999, Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court in November 2009 and Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court in August 2010. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in September 2011.
Khehar, who will have an eight-month tenure as CJI, will take over at a time when the relations between the government and the judiciary are going through a rough patch. It was a five-judge bench headed by him that struck down as unconstitutional the National Judicial Appointments Commission. Again, it was a bench headed by him that struck down President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh, which turned out to be an embarrassment for the NDA government.
As CJI, it will be upon Khehar to take the initiative to resolve the impasse over the new Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges. He is expected to safeguard the interests of the judiciary, as he has been emphatically defending the transparency of the collegium system. “Khehar has to take the lead in initiating the process of resolution since the power of appointments is vested with the judiciary. He has to work towards a meeting of minds,” said senior lawyer Lalit Bhasin.
However, he has the tough challenge of ensuring that the new MoP does not violate his own judgment in the NJAC case. “He is the author of the NJAC judgment. Now, when the MoP is being debated, he has to ensure that it remains within the four corners of the judgment,” said Radhakrishnan.
Khehar’s challenges include filling up vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts—there are seven vacancies in the Supreme Court and around 560 in the High Courts. A big advocate of quick disposal of cases, he is likely to impress upon the High Courts to ensure speedy delivery of justice in cases related to women and the elderly, and in criminal cases. He is likely to give a push to Lok Adalats to promote out-of-court settlements.
