New CJI to take over on this 24th

[Sukla Sen]

Hopefully, things would be a tad or two less bad.

Let's see.

Actually, things plumbed the depth with Gogoi and since then maintain the level.

Of course, the unrelenting downhill journey had been inaugurated by Justice Khehar.

But, under him, "privacy" was adjudged - unanimously by a nine-judge bench, a fundamental right in the teeth of bitter government opposition.

Under his successor, we had Sabarimala judgement; even the Aadhaar judgement was not as bad as the government wanted it to be. The BJP's attempt to capture Karnataka by fraud got foiled through instantaneous intervention by the SC.

All these, now, appear to be belonging to a very different era altogether.

Gogoi started his innings with the Rafale judgement.

Forget about the "judgement" itself, (some of) the "facts" cited as the basis were plainly contrary to facts - very much available in the public domain.

That must be a "first".

He has two other "firsts" to his credir.

One - "sealed envelope" and being accused of sexual harassment by a staff.

And, no departure.

Sukla