New Delhi: The present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice L.M. Sharma, is due to retire in about two months.
The govt. is not able to make up its mind who should be Justice Sharma’s successor. The choice is between Justice M.N. Venkatachalam, a Karnataka Brahmin, and Justice Rat naval Pandian. Venkatachalam is number two in the Supreme Court as far as the highest court’s seniority is concerned, Pandian is senior to him if one has to take into account his career as a judge and his age.
If Justice Pandian is appointed as the next Chief Justice of India, he will be the first head of the Supreme Court from the “backward community.” a Thevar, who delivered the most upright judgement on the Mandal Com. (DV edit Dec. 16.92)
