UU Lalit, or Uday Umesh Lalit, was born on 9th November 1957, in the family of U.R. Lalit, a former Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court and Nagpur bench. He had been a Senior advocate in the profession of law from a long time. He subsequently became the 6th most senior Advocate and was finally appointed as a Supreme Court Judge on 13th August 2014. In this article, we will discuss Justice UU Lalit's background, his career, important judgments & many more. So, let's get started.
Who is UU Lalit?
Uday Umesh Lalit was enrolled as an Advocate in June in 1983. Then he practiced as an advocate in the High court of Bombay till December of 1985, and then he shifted his Practice to Delhi in 1986. He endured his practice in Delhi until he became the senior advocate of the Supreme court He was on the legal services committee as a member for 2 Terms. He was appointed as CBI’s Special public prosecutor in all 2G matters within the 12 Months in 2011. Later, in 2014 He was appointed as a Judge in the Supreme Court, making him the 6th senior advocate to be directly appointed. J. UU. Lalit has worked on many high-profile Criminal Cases, and his Clients are politicians and Bollywood stars.
How was his Professional Career?
UU Lalit began his career as an advocate in the year 1983 here is an important year timeline of his professional career :
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1983- Enrolled as an Advocate and began his profession by working in the high court of Bombay.
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1986- He Worked with the Attorney General for India - Soli Sorabjee.
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2004- His profession as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court began when he was appointed on 29 April 2004.
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2011- Judges GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly appointed Mr. UU Lalit as Special Public Prosecutor for CBI within the 2G spectrum case. they said that “in the hobby of a truthful prosecution of the case, the appointment of uu Lalit is eminently appropriate.”
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2014- The Supreme Court collegium recommended him to be a Supreme Court Judge.
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2019- He turned into a matter of interest to the news when he rescued himself from the 5- bench Judge to hear the Ayodhya dispute case.
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2020- Uday Lalit was part of the 2-judge bench to listen to the Travancore Royal case, which was about the Travancore Royal family’s proper management of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple.
How did UU Lalit rescue himself?
Throughout his tenure as Judge, Justice UU Lalit rescued himself from several high-profile cases:
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In 2014, he rescued himself from hearing Yakub Menon's plea searching for a review of the Supreme court order upholding his capital punishment in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
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In 2015, he rescued himself from hearing a petition filed searching for a fair trial within the 2008 Malegaon Blasts, as he had defended one of the accused earlier.
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In 2016, he rescued himself from a plea searching for a probe into the disappearance of a key prosecution witness in the trial of Asaram Bapu. furthermore, he rescued himself from hearing a plea through former Haryana Chief minister Om Prakash Chautala in the Teacher's recruitment scam case.
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In 2017, he rescued himself from listening to the appeals within the Suryanelli Rape case because he had seemed for one of the accused humans in advance.
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In 2018, he rescued himself from hearing the petition of an accused within the Malegaon Blast seeking a probe into alleged torture and coercion with the Aid of law enforcement authorities.
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In 2019, Justice Lalit rescued himself from the Constitution bench, which was liable for the hearing Ayodhya case dispute
List of cases by Justice UU.Lalit
1. Kashi Nath Mahajan v State of Maharashtra
J. Lalit and J. Goel added three procedural safeguards to prevent the ‘misuse’ of the SC/ST Act. In Kashinath Mahajan v Kingdom of Maharashtra case, they set out the following procedure-
1. Conduct of preliminary inquiry before the registration of the FIR
2. Investigating officer acquiring further approval before an arrest
3. Provision for supply of anticipatory bail below the Act.
2. Smriti Madan Kansagra v. Perry kansagra, 2020
The bench of J UU.Lalit, Indu Malhotra, and Hemant Gupta, Judges, explaining the concept of a mirror order, has stated,“the mirror order is surpassed to ensure that the courts of the country. The arrangements were made within the country where the kid is being shifted. where he had the most cases residing, such an order would also guard the interest of determining who is losing custody, so that the rights of visitation and brief custody aren't impaired.”
The judgment came in a 2:1 verdict, in which J.Indu Malhotra writing the majority judgment for herself, and J. UU Lalit transferred the custody of an 11 - 12 months-old child to his father, an Indian-beginning enterprise magnate residing in Kenya, from his mom with whom he has been living since birth.
3. The Tripal Talaq Case : Shayara bano v. Union of india, (2017)
This landmark judgment was given by the Constitution consisting of 5 Judges, specifically Chief justice Khehar, Kurian Joseph, RF Nariman, UU Lalit, and S. Abdul Nazeer. The bench held triple talaq to be violative of article 14 and, consequently, unconstitutional. Justice Nariman wrote the judgment for himself and Lalit and held that triple talaq's instantaneous and irrevocable nature makes any attempt at reconciliation between the husband and spouse impossible. This goes against the same old practices of Indian jurisprudence; for this reason, it is ultra vires.
4. Sri Marthanda Varma (d) v. State of Kerala, (2020)
This case became an example related to the rights of the Travancore Royal family in administering Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, one of the globe’s richest temples. The temple is located in Kerala. This situation mentioned a couple of selections and concluded that heritable belongings follow the founder's inheritance line. It is not open to the court to put down a brand new rule associated with succession or to make changes in the present rule of succession.
5. Pyare Lal Vs. State of Haryana:
The 3-Judge bench of Justice UU Lalit, Justice MM Shantanagoudar and Justice Vineet Saran referred the query that can be a coverage framed under Article 161 for grant of remission override the necessities under section 433-a CrPC a Bigger bench framed the subsequent issue: “whether or not in exercising of the power conferred under Article 161 of the Constitution a policy may be framed, where under certain norms or postulates are laid down, on the pride of which the gain of remission can be granted through the govt without placing statistics or material with admire to any of the cases earlier than the governor and whether such exercising can override the requirements under section 433-a of the code.”
How does the Supreme Court Safeguard its Independence?
The Constitution has made the following provisions to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial functioning of the Supreme Court:
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Mode of appointment
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Security of tenure
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Fixed service conditions
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Expenses charged on the consolidated fund
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Conduct of judges cannot be discussed
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Ban on practice after retirement
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Power to punish for its contempt
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Freedom to appoint its staff
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Its jurisdiction cannot be curtailed
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Separation from Executive
Who became the 49th Chief Justice of India (CJI)?
UU. Lalit is the Senior-most Judge who became the Chief justice of India (CJI); he has been a part of several landmark Judgements, including the one which held that the practice of divorce through instant 'triple talaq' among Muslims was declared unlawful and unconstitutional. Justice UU Lalit took oath as the 49th CJI of India on August 27, 2022. Previously, Chief justice N V Ramana endorsed the Name of justice UU. Lalit was his successor to the government. Justice Ramana handed over a copy of the advice to justice Lalit. Even Union Law minister Kiren Rijiju wrote a letter to the CJI requesting him to Recommend his successor.
Justice Lalit will have a short tenure of 74 days. Justice Lalit will retire on November 8, and after that, Justice DY Chandrachud Will be appointed as the 50th chief justice of India. Justice NV Ramana was the 48th Chief Justice of India who took over as head of the Indian judiciary from SA Bobde on April 24, 2021; Supreme court judges retire at age 65. In the memorandum of procedure (mop), which governs the manner of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, the outgoing CJI initiates the process of naming the successor after him from the law ministry. The mop says the senior-most Supreme court judge is considered healthy to maintain the office of the CJI, and the perspectives of the outgoing head of the judiciary must be sought "at the right time."
Conclusion
The court is the essential protector of Civil Liberties; the Supreme Court must remain unbiased and undisturbed with the Aid of the executive's direct and indirect effect. The least that may be Achieved to protect India's judicial system independence is to find and nominate supreme court judges without any pressure or bias. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate body in our Jurisdiction. With its establishment, Justice is being proclaimed throughout the residents of India. The powers which might be vested upon the Supreme Court are to make certain Honest and fair trials in Matters which might be the matter of the constitution of India.