With the retirement of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, CJI UU Lalit has now taken over the reins of the topmost court of the country. During the former's farewell ceremony, Justice Lalit had stated that his (74-day) tenure would focus on three areas – case listing, mentioning of urgent matters, and constitution benches.
On Monday, 29 August – his first day in court as CJI – Lalit reportedly clarified that the promised mechanism of mentioning would be ready by Thursday.
But what else happened on his first day at court? We do know that some pertinent petitions, such as those by Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan and Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha, were listed for hearing. Was there any relief for either? And how did Justice Lalit's bench respond to a PIL seeking an inquiry into the Rafael deal? Let us find out.