CJI RANJAN GOGOI & Justice Madan Lokur Attends Pakistan CJ’s Swearing-In

The swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan’s new Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Asif Saeed Khosa saw the attendance of several luminaries from across the world, including Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B Lokur.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in 2014 grabbed headlines for being the first time that an Indian prime minister’s swearing-in was attended by all the leaders of the SAARC countries, then Friday’s swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan’s new Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Asif Saeed Khosa does not lag far behind with an array of chief justices and judges around the world in attendance.

According to Firstpost, also invited to the ceremony are Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Narin Ferdi Sefik, Chief Judge of the State of Borno in Nigeria, Kashim Zannah, justice Lokur’s wife Savita, former Canada judge and founding president of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Sandra E Oxner and her husband.

Justice Lokur and Justice Khosa have been close friends since 2004. He now described the reception in Pakistan as “unprecedented” and appreciated the gesture of inviting him to preside with the CJI for the cases. He also acknowledged the “wonderful” atmosphere in the court there, stating that it wasn’t as crowded as in India.

Justice Khosa received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Punjab and his LLM degree from Queens College at Cambridge in 1978. He enrolled as an Advocate at the Lahore High Court in 1979, and then at the Supreme Court in 1985.

He was elevated as a Supreme Court judge in February, 2010. Over the course of his nearly two decade long career, Justice Khosa has decided about 55,000 cases. He will remain Pakistan’s top judge for 11 months and is scheduled to retire on December 21, 2019.

This is not the first time that an Indian judge has attended the swearing-in ceremony of a Pakistani counterpart. Five years ago, when former Pakistan Chief Justice was administered the oath of office, justice Lokur was there to attend the swearing-in ceremony, reported Indian Express. Justice Khosa, in his nearly 19-year judicial career, has decided nearly 55,000 cases. He, famously, is not in favour of adjournments and announces judgments without reserving them.

By-
Anany Upadhyay
Student Reporter- INBA