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{{short description|49th Chief Justice of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = 
| name = Uday Umesh Lalit
| image = Uday Umesh Lalit.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Uday Lalit in 2024
| office = 49th [[Chief Justice of India]]
| term_start = 27 August 2022
| term_end = 8 November 2022
| president = [[Droupadi Murmu]]
| predecessor = [[N. V. Ramana]]
| successor = [[Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud]]
| office1 = Judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]]
| term_start1 = 13 August 2014
| term_end1 = 26 August 2022
| nominator1 = [[Rajendra Mal Lodha]]
| appointer1 = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1957|11|9}}
| birth_place = [[Solapur]], [[Bombay State]] (present-day [[Maharashtra]]), India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = [[Government Law College, Mumbai]], ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| spouse = Amita Lalit
| parents = U.R. Lalit (father)
}}
'''Uday Umesh Lalit''' (born 9 November 1957) is an Indian lawyer and former [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] judge, who served as the 49th [[Chief Justice of India]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rajagopal|first=Krishnadas|date=2022-08-27|title=CJI Lalit has big plans lined up during his short tenure|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/justice-uu-lalit-sworn-in-as-cji/article65817445.ece|access-date=2022-09-04|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-08-10 |title=Justice U.U. Lalit appointed 49th Chief Justice of India |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/justice-uu-lalit-appointed-49th-cji/article65753938.ece |access-date=2022-08-17 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Prior to his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court, he practised as a [[senior advocate]] at the Supreme Court.<ref name=IT-appointment>{{cite news|title=SC judge appointment: Who is UU Lalit?|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/uu-lalit-name-cleared-by-supreme-court-collegium-for-being-a-judge-200051-2014-07-11|access-date=11 July 2014|work=India Today|date=11 July 2014}}</ref> Justice Lalit is one of the eleven [[senior counsel]]s who have been directly elevated to the Supreme Court.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-senior-advocate-uday-lalit-did-not-represent-bjp-leader-amit-shah-in-sohrabuddin-fake-encounter-case-2001957|title=Senior advocate Uday Lalit did not represent BJP leader Amit Shah in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case |date=14 July 2014|work=[[Daily News & Analysis]]|access-date=8 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="49CJI">{{Cite web|url=https://www.scobserver.in/journal/7-next-cji-s/|title=7 Next CJIs|date=23 November 2021|publisher=Supreme Court Observer|access-date=24 November 2021|archive-date=28 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228123417/https://www.scobserver.in/journal/7-next-cji-s/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.livelaw.in/justice-uu-lalit-likely-chief-justice-india-74-days-list-indias-probable-cjs-2022-justice-bodbe-longest-tenure/|title=Justice UU Lalit likely to be the Chief Justice of India for 74 Days; List of India's probable CJs up to 2022, Justice Bobde has the longest tenure|date=19 August 2014|work=Live Law|access-date=8 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> He is currently ‘Distinguished Visiting Professor’ at Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Distinguished Visiting Professor at [[West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cps.iitb.ac.in/people/honble-retd-chief-justice-shri-uday-umesh-lalit/ | title=Hon'ble Retd. Chief Justice Shri Uday Umesh Lalit – Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, IIT Bombay }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nujs.edu/faculty/honble-mr-justice-uday-umesh-lalit/ | title=Hon'ble Mr. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit }}</ref>

==Family and education==
Lalit was born in [[Solapur]] to the family of U. R. Lalit, a former additional judge of the [[Bombay High Court]] Nagpur bench and a [[senior counsel|senior advocate]] practising at the Supreme Court of India.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/all-in-the-family/297828|title=All In The Family|work=Outlook India|date=19 September 2016|access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref> His family hails from [[Konkan]] but moved to Solapur when his grandfather, Ranganath Lalit, began practicing law.<ref name="Lokmat Times"/> Ranganath Lalit chaired two separate civic receptions when [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] visited Solapur.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Rajagopal |first=Krishnadas |date=2022-08-06 |title=U.U. Lalit {{!}} A firm hand of rule of law |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/uu-lalit-a-firm-hand-of-rule-of-law/article65735558.ece |access-date=2022-08-25 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He is married to Amita Lalit.<ref>{{Cite AV media |date=2020-01-13 |title=Shri Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Judge, Supreme Court of India along with his wife Smt. Amita Uday Lalit meeting with the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 11, 2020. |url=http://164.100.166.38:80//handle/123456789/8067}}</ref>

Lalit attended [[Haribhai Deokaran High School]] in Solapur and is a law graduate from the [[Government Law College, Mumbai]].<ref name="Lokmat Times">{{cite news |title=Solapur Maharashtra's Uday Umesh Lalit likely to be 49th Chief Justice of India |url=https://www.lokmattimes.com/maharashtra/solapur-maharashtras-uday-umesh-lalit-likely-to-be-49th-chief-justice-of-india-a494/ |access-date=4 September 2022 |work=[[Lokmat Times]] |date=5 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
Lalit enrolled with the [[Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa]] as an advocate in June 1983. He started his practice with advocate M.A. Rane, who was considered a proponent of the radical humanist school of thought who believed that social work was as important as building a solid legal practice.<ref name=":0" /> He shifted his practice to [[Delhi]] in 1985 and joined the [[Barristers' chambers|chamber]] of senior advocate [[Pravin H. Parekh]]. From 1986 to 1992, Lalit worked with former [[Attorney General for India]], [[Soli Sorabjee]].<ref name="Hindu SC App">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/collegium-clears-uday-lalit-for-sc/article6198907.ece|title=Collegium clears Uday Lalit for SC|last1=J.|first1=Venkatesan|date=11 July 2014|access-date=24 August 2014|work=The Hindu}}</ref> On 3 May 1992, Lalit qualified and was registered as an [[Advocate-on-Record]] at the Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of Advocates-on-Record, Supreme Court of India |url=https://api.sci.gov.in/pdf/other/aor_list_14062022.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711033642/https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/other/aor_list_14062022.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2022 |archive-format=PDF |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=Supreme Court of India |url-status=live |publication-date=14 June 2022}}</ref> On 29 April 2004, Lalit was designated as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 July 2022 |title=List of Senior Advocates designated by Supreme Court of India (as on 07.07.2022) |url=https://api.sci.gov.in/pdf/seniorAdvocatesDesig/11122021_201328.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221181614/https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/seniorAdvocatesDesig/11122021_201328.pdf |archive-date=21 February 2022 |access-date=18 August 2022 |url-status=live |website=Supreme Court of India}}</ref>

In 2011, a Supreme Court bench of Justices [[G. S. Singhvi]] and [[Asok Kumar Ganguly]] appointed Lalit as the [[public prosecutor|special public prosecutor]] for the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) in the [[2G spectrum case]]s, stating that "in the interest of a fair prosecution of the case, appointment of UU Lalit is eminently suitable".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/2g-scam-sc-orders-lalit-be-made-prosecutor/articleshow/7954508.cms|title=2G scam: SC orders Lalit be made prosecutor|last=Singh|first=Sanjay K.|date=2011-04-12|work=The Economic Times|access-date=2018-03-08}}</ref> His professional strengths are described as 'thoroughness with the case, patience in explaining legal questions and the sober demeanour in presenting the case before the bench.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-uday-lalit-among-four-new-judges-to-assume-charge-in-supreme-court-2010395|title=Uday Lalit among four new judges to assume charge in Supreme Court|date=13 August 2014|work=dna|access-date=23 July 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== As a Supreme Court judge ===
In July 2014, the Supreme court [[Collegium system|collegium]] headed by then Chief Justice of India [[Rajendra Mal Lodha]] recommended his elevation to the Supreme Court as a judge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SC judge appointment: Who is UU Lalit? |date=11 July 2014 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sc-judge-appointment-who-is-uu-lalit-200073-2014-07-11}}</ref> He was appointed as a judge on 13 August 2014 and became only the sixth lawyer to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court.<ref name=":0" />

In 2017, he was part of the five-judge bench in the case against the unconstitutional nature of [[Triple talaq in India|triple talaq]], then being practiced by Indian Muslim men to divorce their wives by uttering the word "talaq" (divorce) three times. Along with Lalit, [[Jagdish Singh Khehar|J S Khehar]], [[Kurian Joseph]], [[Rohinton Fali Nariman|R F Nariman]], and [[Syed Abdul Nazeer|Abdul Nazeer]] delivered the verdict banning the practice.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/meet-uday-umesh-lalit-49th-chief-justice-of-india-11660143127460.html | title=Meet Uday Umesh Lalit, 49th Chief Justice of India | publisher=Live Mint | date=10 August 2022 | access-date=16 August 2022}}</ref>

On 10 January 2019, Justice Lalit recused himself from a five-judge bench constituted to hear the [[Ayodhya dispute]] case. His appearance for the erstwhile Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh [[Kalyan Singh]] in a 'connected case' was brought to the notice of the court by [[Rajeev Dhavan]], and the court in its order noted the 'disinclination' of Justice Lalit to participate in the matter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/ayodhya-case-sc-to-constitute-fresh-five-judge-bench-justice-u-u-lalit-recuses-119011000850_1.html|title=Ayodhya case: SC to constitute fresh five-judge bench, Justice U U Lalit recuses.{{!}}|date=10 January 2019|work=Business Standard|access-date=10 January 2019|language=en-US}}</ref> He has also recused himself from multiple other high-profile cases.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scobserver.in/judges/u-u-lalit/|title=U.U. Lalit|publisher=Supreme Court Observer|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref>

In May 2021, he was part of a bench which denied bail to [[2018 Bhima Koregaon violence]] accused activist [[Gautam Navlakha]].<ref>{{cite news |title=SC Rejects Activist Gautam Navlakha's Bail Plea in Bhima Koregaon Case |url=https://thewire.in/law/sc-rejects-activist-gautam-navlakhas-bail-plea-in-bhima-koregaon-case |access-date=2022-08-27 |work=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] |date=2021-05-12}}</ref>

He was part of the two-judge bench, along with [[Indu Malhotra]], that upheld the [[Travancore royal family]]'s right to administer the [[Padmanabhaswamy Temple]] on 13 July 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Padmanabhaswamy Temple verdict: Supreme Court upholds shebaitship of Travancore royal family – Explained|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/padmanabhaswamy-temple-verdict-supreme-court-upholds-shebaitship-of-travancore-royal-family-explained/620619|access-date=2020-08-18|website=www.timesnownews.com|date=13 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="49CJI" /><ref name=":0" />

=== As Chief Justice of India ===
On 10 August 2022, the [[President of India]] [[Droupadi Murmu]] appointed him the [[List of chief justices of India|49th]] [[Chief Justice of India]]. He took oath as the chief justice on 27 August 2022 in the [[Rashtrapati Bhavan]]. He is the second direct appointee from the [[Bar Council of India|Bar]] to be appointed as the Chief Justice of India.
[[File:Justice UU Lalit Taking Oath as 49th Chief Justice of India.jpg|thumb|Justice UU Lalit Taking Oath as the Chief Justice of India]]
Chief Justice Lalit's tenure despite being short had brought major administrative changes to the court, a frantic pace of work with each bench of judges having to deal with 60-70 cases per day. Over the years Supreme Court's number of [[Constitution bench (India)|constitution bench]] judgements fell dramatically from an average of 134 in the 1960s to just 2 in 2021, this has led to 53 such critical constitutional cases being left unheard and pending. To reverse this trend Chief Justice U. U Lalit announced that a constitution bench would hear 25 constitutional cases on his first day of office,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Editorial Team |date=2022-08-29 |title=Bench strength: A decisive move by Justice Lalit |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/bench-strength-a-decisive-move-by-justice-lalit-122082901286_1.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.business-standard.com |language=en}}</ref> and under his tenure at least one constitutional bench functioned every day. The cases heard include the legality of the [[Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019|Citizenship Amendment Act]], validity of [[2016 Indian banknote demonetisation|demonetisation]], setting up of regional benches of the supreme court, the declaring of Muslims as a socially and educationally backward community in [[Andhra Pradesh]], right to a dignified death, protection of [[jallikattu]], etc.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wahal |first=Kumar Kartikeya & Kamya |date=2022-09-22 |title=Can CJI Lalit Change The Way Constitutional Benches Work? |url=https://www.livelaw.in/columns/chief-justice-of-india-uu-lalit-constitutional-bench-supreme-court-constitution-of-india-209976 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.livelaw.in |language=en}}</ref> There had also been a decline in the pendency of cases from 70,301 on September 1 to 69,461 on October 1.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rajagopal |first=Krishnadas |date=2022-10-08 |title=CJI Lalit sets a frenetic pace in Supreme Court |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cji-lalit-sets-a-frenetic-pace-in-sc/article65985910.ece |access-date=2022-10-10 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The supreme court began live streaming constitutional bench proceedings under his tenure.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-04 |title=Livestreaming Supreme Court proceedings: A step closer to a stronger democracy |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/livestreaming-supreme-court-proceedings-a-step-closer-to-a-stronger-democracy-8188265/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> By the end of his tenure, the supreme court disposed of 10,000 cases while 8,700 cases were freshly filed which had resulted in a slight decrease in the pendency of cases and the court had set up 6 constitution benches.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Das |first=Awstika |date=2022-11-07 |title="Have Been Able to Fulfil My Promises", Says CJI Lalit; 10,000 Matters Disposed, 6 Constitution Benches Formed in 74-Day Tenure |url=https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/have-been-able-to-fulfil-my-promises-says-cji-lalit-10000-matters-disposed-6-constitution-benches-formed-in-74-day-tenure-213509 |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=www.livelaw.in |language=en}}</ref>

Chief Justice Lalit could only recommend one new judge to the Supreme Court, thus his proposal to recommend four more judges to the court, to fill the vacancies in the court, failed to get approval of the collegium over procedural differences arising out of the proposal being sent by circulation instead of being presented in a face to face meeting, as the meeting scheduled on September 30 couldn't take place as one of its members Justice [[Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud]] was busy hearing cases until 9:10 PM.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-05 |title=Split on method to name new Supreme Court judges, CJI sends second note to Collegium |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/split-on-method-to-name-new-supreme-court-judges-cji-sends-2nd-note-to-collegium-8190272/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> As per procedure the [[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Union Law Minister]] [[Kiren Rijiju]] wrote to the Chief Justice on October 7 almost a month before his retirement, asking for his recommendations for the appointment of his successor, by convention once this letter is sent the collegium freezes and no new decisions like induction of new judges will be taken until the appointment of next Chief Justice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-07 |title=Name your successor, Law Minister writes to CJI; window for Collegium he heads closing |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govt-asks-cji-lalit-to-name-successor-sources-8194758/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Unfinished Work...": Selection Of Supreme Court Judges Comes To A Halt. Here's Why |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/selection-process-for-supreme-court-judges-comes-to-halt-fter-chief-justice-asked-to-name-successor-3417539 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=NDTV.com}}</ref>

He was part of the dissenting opinion in the plea against the 103rd constitutional amendment which created 10% [[Reservation in India|reservation]] for those designated to be part of the [[Economically Weaker Section|economically weaker section]] (EWS), the dissenting judges were of the view that the exclusion of [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|SCs/STs]], and [[Other Backward Class|OBCs]] from the quota was violation of equality and discriminatory, and that the judgement would act as a gateway to further infractions of the [[Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India|50% ceiling]] set by the supreme court on reservation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joshi |first=Neha |title=Excluding SC/ ST, OBC from EWS reservation amounts to heaping fresh injustice on them: Justice S Ravindra Bhat in dissenting verdict |url=https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/excluding-sc-st-obc-from-ews-reservation-amounts-to-heaping-fresh-injustice-on-them-justice-s-ravindra-bhat-in-dissenting-verdict |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news |date=7 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

The supreme court under his tenure gave pro-civil liberties judgements like giving bail to activist [[Teesta Setalvad]] and the journalist [[Sidheeq Kappan]]. However his role in the unprecedented urgent Saturday morning hearing of the appeal against the acquittal of [[Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act|UAPA]] accused [[G. N. Saibaba]] by the [[Bombay High Court]] came into question, as the chief justice being the "master of the roster" has the power to decide when cases are listed and which bench of judges hears them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saran |first=Mekhala |date=2022-11-08 |title=Chief Justice UU Lalit: 74 Days of Maximum Efficiency, But Some Questions Linger |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/law/chief-justice-of-india-uu-lalit-retirement-74-days-of-maximum-efficiency-but-some-questions-linger |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=TheQuint |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Chief Justices of India}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalit, Uday Umesh}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:Chief justices of India]]
[[Category:Indian Senior Counsel]]
[[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of India]]
[[Category:People from Solapur]]

Uday Umesh Lalit - Revision history

Ananyareddy: creating new bio needs work