Priority to appoint good judges: Justice R.M Lodha

Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha after swearing in as the 41st Chief Justice of India on Sunday said that his priority is to appoint good judges so that the entire complexion of judiciary changes within a span of seven years.

"Judiciary was not visible, now it is," said Lodha

"My mantra is to appoint good judges and rest will follow. If we have good judges, then in about seven years time we will have an entirely different complexion of judiciary," he said.

Earlier in the day, Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha sworn in as the 41st Chief Justice of India.

President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office to Justice Lodha, who succeeded Justice Sathasivam as the new Chief Justice of India.

Justice Lodha's term as the Chief Justice of India will be a short one as he is set to retire in September.

Born on September 28, 1949 in Jodhpur, Justice Lodha is the son of former Rajasthan High Court judge Justice S.K. Mal Lodha. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Rajasthan in February, 1973 and practiced law in the Rajasthan High Court, dealing with constitutional, civil, company, criminal, taxation and labour matters etc.

He was elevated as a permanent judge of the Rajasthan High Court on January 31, 1994 and transferred to the Bombay High Court on February 16, 1994.

He was a judge of the Bombay High Court for thirteen years, and sat on almost all jurisdictions. He also participated in important national and international conferences in India and abroad on intellectual property, gender bias, environment nuclear energy, court management, commercial courts, arbitration and mediation etc.

He was re-transferred to the Rajasthan High Court, where he assumed office on February 2, 2007. His other appointments included being Administrative Judge of the Rajasthan High Court and Chairman, State Judicial Academy, Rajasthan.

He was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on May 13, 2008 and elevated to the Supreme Court on December 17, 2008.

He has also served as Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority, Member, General Council, National Law University, Jodhpur, Member, Governing Council, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, President, Supreme Court [Middle Income Group] Legal Aid Society and Chairperson, Advisory Committee, National Court Management Systems.