Sleepy village celebrates the elevation of Justice Thakur

Soon after Justice Tirath Singh Thakur was sworn in as the 43rd Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee, celebrations broke out in his native hamlet of Batroo in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.
People came out on the streets in the sleepy, remote hamlet of Ukheral tehsil to celebrate the elevation of 63-year-old Justice Thakur, who delivered important verdicts including on BCCI reforms and Saradha scam, to the high office.
"This is a matter of great pride not only for this village but for the entire district and the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir as the son of the soil, a man from this small and remote village has been elevated to such a high office," Mubarakh Singh, a local resident said.

The residents of adjoining villages of Batroo also joined their counterparts in celebrating the elevation of Justice Thakur, who took over from the incumbent Justice H L Dattu, with firecrackers and distribution of sweets.
A large number of people also thronged his ancestral house to congratulate the family members who still live there.
Those who know him describe him as a down to earth man, who is connected to his roots.

"Even today he is in touch with several villagers. He is a down to earth who knows several villagers by their name and even keeps on enquiring about their well-being," Singh said.

Born on January 4, 1952, he would have the tenure as CJI for a little over one year and would retire on January 4, 2017.
Son of former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Devi Das Thakur, a well-known jurist and judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Thakur enrolled as a Pleader in October, 1972 and joined the Chamber of his father.
He was designated as a senior advocate in 1990.
On February 16, 1994, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and transferred as a judge of the Karnataka High Court in March 1994.

He was appointed as a permanent judge in September 1995 and transferred to the Delhi High Court in July 2004.
Justice Thakur was appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on April 9, 2008 and on August 11, 2008, he took over as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court and assumed charge on November 17, 2009.