New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge
Markandey Katju was today appointed as the new chairman of
media regulator Press Council of India (PCI), succeeding
Justice G N Ray.
The appointment of Justice Katju, who retired from the
apex court on September 19, was cleared by a committee headed
by Vice President Hamid Ansari and included Lok Sabha Speaker
Meira Kumar, it was officially announced.
When contacted, Justice Katju said he would give his
comments to the media informally on Monday after getting
the official notification on his appointment.
Justice Katju, 65, delivered landmark judgements that
included favouring passive euthanasia, death penalty for
honour killings, capital punishment for policemen involved in
fake encounters and wanted the corrupt to be "hanged from the
lamp post".
Before his stint in the Supreme Court, Justice Katju
served as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 1991
and as its acting Chief Justice in August 2004.
He was then appointed as the Chief Justice of Madras High
Court in November 2004 and then became the Chief Justice
of Delhi High Court in October 2005.
He was appointed as the Judge of the Supreme Court in
April 2006 and he retired on September 19, 2011.
Katju has written several books which include
publications such as Law in the Scientific Era and
Interpretation of Taxing Statutes, among others.
His father late Justice SN Katju, was a former judge of
the Allahabad High Court and his grandfather Kailash Nath
Katju was one of India’s leading lawyers and participated
in the country’s freedom movement before becoming Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister and went on to be the Governor of West
Bengal and Orissa, as well as the Union Law, Home and Defence
Minister.
PTI
