Hyderabad: Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has recommended Justice NV Ramana as his successor and the 48th Chief Justice of India in keeping with convention and seniority norms. Let us have a look at some of the landmark judgements by the judge.
Speedy disposal of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs
On 17th September 2019, Justice NV Ramana led bench had released an order stating that Chief Justices of all High Courts need to list all pending criminal cases filed against MPs and MLAs. Instructions were also given to list all such cases which have not advanced further due to higher court orders.
Value to women's housework
In January 2021, a Supreme Court bench involving Justice NV Ramana and Surya Kant had ruled that a woman doing housework is no less than her husband's office work. Justice NV Ramana who had emphasised the idea which was initiated by the top court in the 2001 Lata Wadhwa case, said that housewives need to be paid on the basis of services rendered by them in the house.
Regarding the grant of the permanent commission for women in the armed forces
In 2018, Justice NV Ramana had lambasted the Centre over women officers not being granted permanent commission in the armed forces. The centre was also asked not to adopt a discriminatory approach in this regard and sought an early response from the Centre on the Short Service Commission (SSC).
Md. Anwar v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2020
A bench comprising of Justice NV Ramana, SA Nazeer and Surya Kant stated that in order to claim immunity citing mental illness according to Section 84 of the IPC, the accused needs to display beyond all reasonable doubt that he/she really suffers from an ailment that affects their discretionary judgement.
Article 370 reference to larger Bench denied
A Coram of Justices NV Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai and Surya Kant in a case pertaining to Dr Shah Faesal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors had denied the need to refer a larger bench to the petitions challenging the Presidential Orders with reference to the repealing of special status in J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution
Dismissal of a curative petition and stay on the execution of 2012 Delhi gang-rape convict
A Coram of Justices NV Ramana, Arun Mishra, Rohinton Fali Nariman, R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, and AS Bopanna while hearing the Pawan Kumar Gupta vs State of NCT Delhi case had dismissed the curative petition and stay on the execution of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape convict. The Court dismissed the final plea against the rejection of mercy petition of the convicts by the President of India. On March 20, at 5:30 am the four convicts were hanged to death at Tihar Jail.
Kashmir lockdown: Suspension of the internet shouldn't be indefinite, must adhere to the Proportionality Test
NV Ramana, Surya Kant, and BR Gavai while hearing the case pertaining to Anuradha Basin vs Union of India said that freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(g) is provided protection under the Constitution. In connection with this, the internet cannot be stopped and that a periodic review must be done. The court also observed that prohibitory orders under Sec 144 of the CrPC are not to be imposed in order to suppress the legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or while exercising democratic rights.
The procedure of dissolution of a partnership firm consisting of only two partners
A Coram of justices comprising NV Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari held that when there are only two partners and one has agreed to retire, then the retirement amounts to the dissolution of the firm.
Landlord-tenant disputes under the Transfer of Property Act are arbitrable
A Coram of justices NV Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari of the Supreme Court held that landlord-tenant disputes governed by the Transfer of Property Act (TP Act) are arbitrable (except when they are covered by a specific forum created by rent control laws) as they are not actions in 'rem' but pertain to subordinate rights in personam that arise from rights in 'rem'.
Central Public Information Officer v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal, 2019
The 5-judge Constitution Bench of Ranjan Gogoi, NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, held that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes under the purview of the Right to Information.
Roger Mathew v. South India Bank Ltd, 2019
A 5-judge Constitution Bench of Ranjan Gogoi, NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, upheld the validity of Section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017 and held that the said Section does not suffer from an excessive delegation of legislative functions.
Jindal Stainless Ltd v. State of Haryana, 2017
A 9-judge bench, by 7:2 majority, upheld the validity of the entry tax imposed by the States on goods imported from other States.
Nabam Rebia, and Bamang Felix v. Deputy Speaker, 2016
A bench of five justices - Jagdish Singh Khehar, Dipak Misra, Madan B. Lokur, Pinaki Chandra Ghose and N.V.Ramana quashed the order of the Arunachal Governor, for being violative of Article 163 read with Article 174 of the Constitution of India.
Adi Saiva Sivachariyargal Nala Sangam v. State of Tamil Nadu, 2016
The bench held that the appointment of Archakas in temples will have to be made in accordance with the Agamas, subject to their due identification as well as their conformity with constitutional mandates and principles.
Campaigns:
On making women aware of their legal rights: In 2020, Justice NV Ramana, as the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) launched a campaign that would inform and make women aware of their legal rights and provisions that protect them. The collaboration between NALSA and the National Commission for Women was titled 'Empowering Women through Legal Awareness'.
