SC pays tributes to former judge Vijay Kumar Jhanji

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held a Full Court reference to pay tribute to former acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Vijay Kumar Jhanji, who passed away on February 23 this year.

Speaking about Justice Jhanjhi, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said he always embodied the principle that institutions must stand before individuals.

 The top court also paid tributes to late senior advocates ADN Rao, Mukul Gupta and S Balakrishnan. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh also paid tributes to the deceased.

Jhanji authored a significant judgement which held that “daughter of a permanent resident of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will not lose status as a permanent resident of the State of Jammu and Kashmir on her marriage with a person, who is not a permanent resident of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Rao, who passed away on February 25, assisted the Supreme Court as an amicus curiae in dealing with several environment-related PILs, according to the top court’s bar association.

Rao, who was designated as a senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 2021, practised for over three decades at the Bar and was known for his able assistance to the top court in dealing with environment-related PILs, especially those filed by eminent environmentalist M C Mehta in the 1980s. Rao’s son, Annam Venkatesh, is an advocate-on-record practising in the top court.

Senior advocate Mukul Gupta passed away on April 7.

A Full Court reference is a formal proceeding held by the court to pay tribute to deceased judges.