Justice Altamas Kabir becomes the 39th Chief Justice of India

New Delhi: Justice Altamas Kabir on Saturday took oath as the 39th Chief Justice of India after Justice SH Kapadia relinquished office on Friday. President Pranab Mukherjee administered him the oath at Rashtrapati Bhawan and the swearing-in ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries, including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath of office of Chief Justice of India to Justice Altamas Kabir, at a Swearing in Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on September 29, 2012.

He will be the Chief Justice of India for nine months till July 18, 2013.

Born on July 19, 1948 at Kolkata, Justice Kabir did his LLB and MA from the University of Calcutta. He was appointed as the Supreme Court judge on September 9, 2005.

He was enrolled at the Bar on August 1, 1973 and was made a permanent judge of Calcutta High Court on August 6, 1990. Justice Kabir assumed the office of acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court on January 11, 2005.

He was elevated as Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court on March 1, 2005 and became a judge of the Supreme Court of India on September 9, 2005.

Justice Kabir was responsible for the computerisation of the Calcutta High Court, the City Civil Court and other courts in Kolkata. He was appointed as executive chairman of National Legal Services Authority on January 14, 2010.