In the History of Indian Judiciary, a woman is set to become the Chief Justice of India. This great news is after the entry of Justice B V Nagarathna to the powerful collegium of the Supreme court. This is not soon, however after 2 years. Yes, it’s time for India to welcome a Woman CJI. This will definitely motivate all women advocates.
Even though her span of tenure will be less, the impact will be high as she will sit as the 1st Woman CJI in the apex court. She’ll become the CJI in the year of 2027 after Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, if the appointment goes on the seniority basis.
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She is a judge who takes a firm stand on all issues. She quashed the remission of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case and opposed the 2016 demonetization. She also pronounced important judgments in the taxation area.
Recently the Supreme Court recommended the names of two Chief Justices of High Courts and a judge of the Bombay High Court for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna was born in Bengaluru and pursued her higher education in Delhi. She earned a B.A. (Hons.) degree in History from Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, in 1984, and subsequently obtained her LL.B. from the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, in July 1987.
She began her legal career with KESVY & Co., Advocates in 1987. In 1994, she commenced independent practice, which she continued until her elevation as a Judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2008. She was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 31st August 2021, and her tenure is set to conclude on 29th October 2027.
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In this case, the bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice N.K. SinghSupreme Court dismissed the Union Government’s appeal and affirmed that lottery distributors are not liable to pay service tax under the Finance Act, 1994. It noted that multiple amendments to the Finance Act attempting to bring such transactions under the service tax net had failed and emphasized that lotteries constitute “betting and gambling,” a domain exclusively reserved for State legislation under Entry 62, List II of the Constitution.
In this case, the apex court set aside a Bombay High Court order in a case concerning the issuance of a notice under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to a deceased taxpayer. A bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice N.K. Singh found merit in the petitioner’s argument and held that a notice issued in the name of a deceased person is defective.
In this ruling, Justice B V Nagarathna along with 9 other judges heard the matter. Among 9, 8 judges held that State governments have the authority to regulate ‘industrial alcohol’ under Entry 8 of the State List, which pertains to intoxicating liquor. However, Justice B V Nagarathna opposed this view arguing that industrial alcohol falls within the exclusive legislative domain of the Union government under Entry 52 of the Union List and Entry 33 of the Concurrent List, particularly since it is a scheduled industry under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act (IDRA), 1951.
In this matter, the bench, comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, condoned the delay in filing but dismissed the SLP on merits, affirming that payment of the mandatory pre-deposit through the Electronic Credit Ledger (ECL) constitutes valid compliance under Section 107(6)(b) of the CGST Act, 2017. It dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Union of India and CGST authorities, upholding the Gujarat High Court’s judgment in the case of Yasho Industries Ltd. vs Union of India & Ors.
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The Supreme Court has stayed the Delhi High Court‘s ruling which held that any notice, order, or summons issued by the Income Tax Department without a Document Identification Number (DIN) would have no legal standing. In this matter, Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih issued notice in the appeal and stayed both the High Court’s judgment dated 20.03.2023 and the ITAT’s order dated 19.09.2022 until further orders.
The judge’s deep legal expertise and commitment to justice can be seen by the many historic judgments she assisted in shaping India. Her knowledge is a great help to the Indian judiciary. Notably, her audacious and self-reliant approach to rendering decisions from a unique viewpoint is admirable and motivating.
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