New Delhi:
The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment in the Rafale review petitions on Thursday. The three-judge bench comprising of CJI Gogoi, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph will be pronouncing the verdict. The mega defence pact was at the centre of political storm during the runup for the Lok Sabha Elections. The CJI-headed Bench had reserved the order on the review plea filed by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, ex-Union Ministers Yashwant Singha and Arun Shourie. The review plea alleged that the government misled the court into delivering its December 14, 2018 judgment upholding the agreement.
Along with the Rafale verdict, the Top court will pronounce its judgment on the review petitions challenging the entry of women into Sabarimala temple at 10:30 am. In September last year, the Supreme Court had allowed entry of women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala. The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, had said that banning the entry of women into the shrine is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women. While Justices RF Nariman and DY Chandrachud concurred with the CJI and Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Indu Malhotra gave a dissenting verdict.
CJI Gogoi is not the only one to retire with the crucial verdicts. His predecessors including Dipak Misra, JS Kheher and TS Thakur also delivered landmark verdicts before the end of their terms.
Who Is Ranjan Gogoi?
Justice Gogoi took over as the 46th CJI of India in March, 2018. Born on November 18, 1954, Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate in 1978. He practised in the Gauhati high court on constitutional, taxation and company matters. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Gauhati high court on February 28, 2001. On September 9, 2010, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana high court. He was appointed as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court on February 12, 2011 and then a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012.
