Uday Umesh Lalit (English: Uday Umesh Lalit, born November 9, 1957) is the former 49th Chief Justice of India. He met former Chief Justice N. Had replaced V. Raman. Justice U. You. Lalit assumed the charge of Chief Justice of India from August 27, 2022 and held the post till November 8, 2022. His tenure lasted for less than three months. Judge U. You. Lalit has been associated with many high-profile cases. This includes the case of actor Salman Khan in the blackbuck poaching case, the case of the then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in the corruption case and the case of former Army Chief General V.K. in a case related to his date of birth. Singh’s case is also included. You. You. Lalit has also been Amit Shah’s lawyer.
Introduction
Born on November 9, 1957, U. You. Lalit was appointed judge of the Supreme Court on August 13, 2014. Before that he was counted among the biggest lawyers of the country. He was appointed Special Public Prosecutor by the Supreme Court in the 2G scam case. You. You. Lalit’s father U. R. Lalit has been an additional judge in the Mumbai High Court. You. R. Lalit is counted among the biggest lawyers of the country. His grandfather Ranganath Lalit was also one of the renowned lawyers of Solapur district of Maharashtra.
Advocacy
Justice U. You. Lalit started law practice in June 1983. He practiced in the Mumbai High Court from 1983 to 1985. He also worked with former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee from 1986 to 1992. In 2004, the Supreme Court designated him as a Senior Advocate. You. You. Lalit is a specialist in criminal law. He participated in the trials as Public Prosecutor for CBI in all 2G cases under the orders of the Supreme Court. Apart from this he also served as a member of the Legal Services Committee of the Supreme Court for two terms. He was elevated as a Supreme Court judge directly from the bar on August 13, 2014. He was subsequently appointed as the acting Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority in May 2021.
When did you come into discussion?
During his tenure, Justice U. You. Lalit has at times recused himself from high-profile cases. In 2014, he recused himself from hearing the petition of Yakub Menon. The petition sought review of the Supreme Court’s order upholding Menon’s death sentence in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. In 2015, he recused himself from hearing a petition seeking a fair trial in the 2008 Malegaon blasts because he had previously defended one of the accused. In 2016, he recused himself from hearing a petition seeking a probe into the disappearance of a key prosecution witness in Asaram Bapu’s trial.
Triple talaq canceled
In his tenure so far in the Supreme Court, Justice U. You. Lalit has been a part of many big decisions. On August 22, 2017, he was a member of the bench of five judges which declared the system of ‘talaq-e-biddat’ i.e. triple talaq unconstitutional. In a joint judgment written with Justice Rohinton Nariman in this case, he had said that even in Islam, triple talaq is considered wrong. The right given to men to pronounce triple talaq simultaneously puts women in an unequal position. This is against the fundamental rights of women.
Notice on sedition law
On April 30, 2021, a bench headed by Justice Lalit had issued a notice to the Center on the validity of Section 124A of the IPC in the case of sedition. In this case, the court had agreed to hear the petition of Manipur journalist Kishore Chandra Wangkhemcha and Chhattisgarh journalist Kanhaiyalal Shukla.
Vijay Mallya punished
Justice U. You. Lalit had given 4 months imprisonment to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya in the contempt case. The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Mallya. It also said that in case of non-payment of fine, he will have to undergo additional jail term of two months. Justice Lalit had also given an important order on protecting children from sexual exploitation. The bench headed by him held that touching the sexual part of the body with sexual intent is a matter under the POCSO Act. It cannot be said that touching a child over clothes is not sexual abuse.
Relief to Amrapali flat buyers
Justice U. You. Lalit was also on the bench which gave major relief to about 42,000 flat buyers of Amrapali in 2019. Then the court had ordered that the incomplete project of Amrapali will now be completed by the National Building Construction Corporation i.e. NBCC. The court canceled the RERA registration of all the building companies of Amrapali Group that cheated investors. Besides, an investigation into embezzlement and money laundering of investors’ money was also ordered.[2]
Decision on SC/ST Act
Justice U. also ordered not to make immediate arrest under the Scheduled Caste/Tribe Atrocities Act. You. It was given by the bench headed by Lalit. The court had also ordered to register cases on complaints under this Act only after preliminary investigation. However, later the Central Government made changes in the law and reinstated the provision of immediate arrest.
distanced himself from Ayodhya case
On January 10, 2019, U. You. Lalit had recused himself from the five-judge bench hearing the Ayodhya case. He had based this on the fact that about two decades ago he had appeared as a lawyer for former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in a criminal case related to the Ayodhya dispute.