Justice Ramesh Chandra Lahoti on Tuesday took oath as the chief justice of India and immediately thereafter took his mother's blessings at the glittering Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Justice Lahoti, 63, who succeeds Justice S Rajendra Babu, has a tenure of nearly 18 months.
He was administered the oath of office by President A P J Abdul Kalam.
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among the dignitaries present.
"I owe everything to my parents. God blesses people through their parents," Justice Lahoti later said.
Born in Guna, Madhya Pradesh, in 1940, Justice Lahoti got enrolled as an advocate in 1962 and was recruited directly from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service and appointed district and sessions judge.
He resigned in May 1978 and went to practise in the Madhya Pradesh high court.
In May 1988 he was appointed additional judge there and in August 1999 made permanent judge.
In February 1994 he was transferred to the Delhi high court.
In December 1998 he was elevated to the Supreme Court.
Justice Lahoti's judgments have had a profound effect on the country.
In a landmark judgment in Javed versus State of Haryana, Justice Lahoti upheld a law disqualifying those with more than two children from standing for panchayat elections.
When it came to reservation in postgraduate courses in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Justice Lahoti held that beyond the basic level of education in medical sciences, wherein reservation can be understood as fulfilment of societal obligation of the State towards the weaker segments, "reservation is a reversion or diversion from the performance of primary duty of the State".
In the same ruling, he upheld the constitutional validity of the law assigning weightage to doctors who have served in rural and tribal areas for the purpose of admission in postgraduate medical courses.
In many of his decisions, Justice Lahoti cautioned against the abuse of power by public officials and in one such judgment, he observed: "Senior officers occupying key positions are not supposed to mortgage their own discretion, volition and decision-making authority and be prepared to give way at the behest of politicians for carrying out commands having no sanctity in law."
While dealing with the issue of prompt and speedy justice, he once observed, "The obligation of the presiding judge to hold the proceedings so as to achieve the dual objective -- search for truth and delivering justice expeditiously -- cannot be subdued.
"However sensitive the subject matter of the trial may be, the courtroom is no place of play for passions, emotions and surcharged enthusiasm."
Justice Lahoti's concern for children's education is reflected in a judgment where he said, "Children are not only the future citizens but also are future of the earth."
"Education is an investment made by the nation in its children for harvesting a future crop of responsible adults, productive of a well functioning society."
