Justice Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan was on Sunday sworn in as the Chief Justice of India -- the first Dalit to assume the post.
President A P J Abdul Kalam administered the oath of office and secrecy to Justice Balakrishnan, 61, at a ceremony in Ashoka Hall at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Justice Balakrishnan is the 37th Chief Justice of India. His octogenarian mother K M Sharda, who was on a wheel chair, and wife Nirmala Balakrishnan were present during the ceremony.
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha Speaker Somanth Chatterjee, United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and several Union Ministers including Shivraj Patil, A K Anthony, Lalu Prasad, H R Bhardwaj, Shushil Kumar Shinde, Ram Vilas Paswan, Meira Kumar and Kapil Sibal, were present on the occasion.
The Chief Justice's predecessor Y K Sabharwal and judges of the Supreme Court and various High Courts were also present. Among the former Chief Justices of India who witnessed the ceremony were K N Singh, A M Ahmadi, A S Anand, V N Khare and R C Lahoti.
