Hon'ble Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha |
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41st Chief Justice of India | |
In office 27 April 2014 – 27 September 2014 |
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Appointed by | Pranab Mukherjee (President of India) |
Preceded by | P Sathasivam |
Succeeded by | H L Dattu |
Judge at Supreme Court of India | |
In office 17 December 2008 – 27 April 2014 |
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Chief Justice of Patna High Court | |
In office 13 May 2008 – 16 December 2008 |
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Judge of Rajasthan High Court | |
In office 2 February 2007 – 12 May 2008 |
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Judge of Bombay High Court | |
In office 16 February 1994 – 1 February 2007 |
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Judge of Rajasthan High Court | |
In office 31 January 1994 – 15 February 1994 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Jodhpur, Rajasthan |
28 September 1949
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | University of Jodhpur |
Religion | Jainism |
Justice R. M. Lodha (born 28 September 1949) was the 41st Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India. Before being elevated to the Supreme Court of India, Lodha served as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court. He has also served as a judge in Rajasthan High Court and Bombay High Court. On 14 July 2015, the Supreme Court committee headed by RM Lodha suspended the owners of Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from the Indian Premier League cricket tournament for a period of two years for alleged involvement in betting.
Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha was born to Justice S K Mal Lodha, a former Judge of Rajasthan High Court. He completed BSc and LLB from Jodhpur University.
In February 1973, he got enrolled with the Bar Council of Rajasthan at Jodhpur. He shifted to Jaipur in 1977 on formation of Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court. He was appointed as Central Government standing counsel at the Rajasthan High Court in 1990. On 31 January 1994, Lodha was elevated as a permanent judge of Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur. On 16 February 1994, he was transferred to Bombay High Court and served till 2007. He assumed office as a judge of Rajasthan High Court on 2 February 2007. On 13 May 2008, he was elevated as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court. On 17 December 2008, Justice Lodha was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Lodha was appointed as the Chief Justice of India succeeding P Sathasivam on 11 April and assumed charge on 27 April 2014. Justice Lodha said that infusing greater transparency in the appointment of judges and initiating steps to bring down the staggering backlog of 3.3 crore cases will be among his priorities. He retired on 27 September 2014 and was succeeded by H L Dattu.