Justice Ramana sworn-in as CJI, only second from Andhra to hold coveted post

Born on August 27, 1957, in an agricultural family in Ponnavaram Village of Andhra Pradesh's Krishna District, NV Ramana has done B.Sc. and Bachelor of Law.

President of India Ram Nath Kovind on April 6 appointed Justice NV Ramana as 48th Chief Justice of India.

Kovind issued the order after accepting the recommendation made by the outgoing CJI SA Bobde, who retired on April 23. As the CJI, Justice Ramana will have a term till August 26, 2022.

Justice NV Ramana is the second person from Andhra Pradesh to become CJI. Earlier, Justice Koka Subba Rao from Rajamahendravaram served as the Chief Justice of India. Justice Subba Rao was the ninth Chief Justice of India from 1966-1967. Justice Subba Rao also served as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Justice NV Ramana enrolled as a lawyer on February 10, 1983. Before becoming judge, he practiced in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Central, and Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunals, and the Supreme Court of India in Civil, Criminal, Constitutional, and Labour, Service and Election matters. His specialization lies in Constitutional, Criminal, Service, and Inter-State River laws.

"He has also functioned as Panel Counsel for various government organizations. He has functioned as Additional Standing Counsel for Central Government and Standing Counsel for Railways in the Central Administrative Tribunal at Hyderabad. He has also functioned as Additional Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh. He was appointed as a Permanent Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on June 27, 2000. He functioned as Acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court from March 10, 2013, to May 20, 2013," reads a brief profile on the website of National Legal Service Authority.

Justice NV Ramana was elevated as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in September 2013. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India in February 2014 as a judge and will retire on 26 August 2022. Justice NV Ramana will have around 16 months to serve as the CJI.

As a student, NV Ramana fought for civil liberties during the Emergency and the Jai Andhra movement for a separate Andhra state in the 1970s.