VP Jagdeep Dhankar confers 'Doctor of Laws' (Honoris Causa) to Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi at Panjab University

Digital Desk: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi was honoured with the prestigious degree of 'Doctor of Laws' on May 20 at Panjab University. Based on the recommendations of a High-Powered Committee comprised of Vice Chancellors and Chancellors from other universities, the Syndicate of Panjab University granted this honorary degree to Justice Gogoi, recognising his tremendous contributions to the legal field and society at large.

The historic event occurred at the university's 70th Annual Convocation, where Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar had the honour of awarding the 'Doctor of Laws' (Honoris Causa) degree to Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Distinguished guests, faculty members, students, and their families gathered to commemorate this incredible achievement at the ceremony.

The decision to bestow the honorary degree on Justice Gogoi was taken after a careful assessment of his distinguished career and exceptional service. According to the award letter, Sh. Ranjan Gogoi served as the 46th Chief Justice of India from October 3, 2018, to November 17, 2019, after previously serving as an Honourable Judge of the Supreme Court from April 2012 to October 2018. He is notable for becoming the first Chief Justice of India from the North-East region. He is also the third Supreme Court Judge to be appointed to the Rajya Sabha and the first to be nominated.

To speak about former CJI Ranjan Gogoi's judicial career which began in 2001, when he was appointed to the bench of the Guwahati High Court, where he served until 2010. 

Following that, he was sworn in as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010, where he finally rose to become Chief Justice from 2011 to 2012. During his service on the Supreme Court, he delivered over 603 judgements, including at least 25 Constitution Bench Decisions, changing the country's legal conditions.

Justice Gogoi's notable and historic decisions include the updating of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC), the legitimacy of the CBI director's reinstatement, the conclusion of the Rafale acquisition issue, and the famous Ram Janmabhoomi case. 

In addition, he founded the Centre for Research and Planning (CRP) in 2018 to improve the Supreme Court's intellectual infrastructure. The CRP was recently envisioned as a beneficial resource to aid the Collegium in topics on the nomination of judges to the higher courts. Justice Ranjan Gogoi has also written an autobiography, "Justice for the Judge: An Autobiography."

The convocation ceremony also saw the distribution of gold medals to nearly 500 top-performing undergraduate and postgraduate students, in addition to the honorary degree granted to Justice Gogoi.