Hero of judicial activism, India's new Chief Justice

Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma was on Tuesday morning sworn in as the 27th Chief Justice of India.

He has a 10-month term to serve in office and will retire on January 18, 1998.

In a simple function at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Shankar Dayal Sharma administered the oath of office to Justice Verma.

Born on January 18,1933, Justice Verma was educated variously at the Government Jubilee Inter College in Lucknow, the Irwin Christian College in Allahabad and Allahabad University.

He enrolled as a lawyer in the Madhya Pradesh high court on August 19,1959. In September 1972, Verma was appointed an additional judge and on June 2, 1973, he was made a permanent judge. He was appointed chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh high court on June 14,1986. Later, from September 1, 1986, he served as chief justice of the Rajasthan high court.

He became a Supreme Court judge in June 1989.