Ranjan Gogoi takes charge as Indian CJ

Justice Ranjan Gogoi was yesterday sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of India.

President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to 63-year-old Justice Gogoi at a brief ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan's Darbar Hall.

Justice Gogoi, who succeeds Justice Dipak Misra in the post of the Chief Justice of India, will have a tenure of a little over 13 months and would retire on November 17, 2019.

  Justice Gogoi faces the task of monitoring the smooth and effective preparation of the National Register for Citizens (NRC) in Assam whose draft final list published on July 30 left out 40.7 lakh people.

One key decision the apex court bench headed by Justice Gogoi would have to take is whether ration cards could be treated as a proof of Indian citizenship for those excluded from the draft NRC aimed at identifying "illegal" immigrants from Bangladesh.  

Another key and sensitive case he is expected to deal with is the title suit of the disputed land at the Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi site in Ayodhya.   

Justice Gogoi will also head a bench that will take a call on the issue of appointment of an anti-corruption ombudsman on which the government has made very slow progress.