In a day, CJ goes from A to Z & one more

Sitting for the first time as Chief Justice of India, Justice S Rajendra Babu today laid down the A to Z of law—and beyond.Justice Babu...

Sitting for the first time as Chief Justice of India, Justice S Rajendra Babu today laid down the A to Z of law—and beyond.

Justice Babu created a record of sorts by delivering 27 verdicts, clearing a backlog of cases he had finished hearing and reserved for judgment over two years or so.

In one uninterrupted stretch, he delivered all the judgments which were, as is the normal practice, listed not with serial numbers but with letters of the alphabet. ut since the number of judgments he was due to deliver today exceeded the number of letters, the Supreme Court registry listed the 27th verdict as ‘‘Z1.’’

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The judgment listed at ‘‘Z1’’ upheld the introduction in 2001 of ‘‘Vedic astrology’’ courses in universities at the under graduate, post graduate and research levels.

Sitting in the company of Justice G P Mathur and Justice S H Kapadia, Justice Babu dismissed a petition filed by scientist P M Bhargava, former director of Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, challenging the UGC decision to allow Vedic astrology courses.

Before delivering the 27 judgments from a three-judge bench, Justice Babu sat in a five-judge bench which ruled that state governments have the power to fix sugarcane purchase prices for sugar mills over and above the statutory minimum price fixed by the Centre.

Justice Babu will sit as Chief Justice for two more days and, while the court is on vacation, retire by the month-end.