Justice K G Balakrishnan sworn-in as Chief Justice of India

New Delhi, Jan 14 (UNI) Justice Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan was today sworn in as the Chief Justice of India by President A P J Abdul Kalam at Rashtrapati Bhavan at a impressive ceremony this morning.

Several dignatories including Vice- President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, outgoing Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Supreme Court judges, several former Chief Justices of India, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and several Cabinet Ministers were present at the Swearing-in of the new CJI at Darbar Hall this forenoon. Mr Balakrishnan's mother K M Sarada witnessed the cermony on a wheel chair.

Justice Balakrishnan becomes the first ever Dalit to rise to the position of Chief Justice of India since independence. He was born in 1945, in a family with modest resources in Thalayolaparambu village in the Kottayam district of Kerala.

As a child he had to tread five km to reach a primary school in his village. He joined the Maharaja's College at Ernakulam. He earned his graduation in Law from Maharaja's Law College and started practicing in 1968. He completed his LLM in 1970.

After a judicial stint as a Munsif in 1973 Justice Balakrishnan resumed practice as an advocate in the Kerala High Court and rise to the postion of a judge of the Kerala High Court and was transferred to the Gujarat High Court in 1997. He became the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court in 1998. He was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court in June 2000.

Justice Balakrishnan has made many intuitive judgements, such as asking the election Commission to debar the political parties for forcing strikes on the people. His several rulings have had far reaching effects on society.

UNI