No Change of Guard ceremony on 27 August as CJI takes oath on same day
2 min read . Updated: 25 Aug 2022, 07:10 PM IST
PremiumRashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday stated that there will be no change of guard ceremony on Saturday due to swearing-in of new CJI
As justice Uday Umesh Lalit takes oath as the 49th Chief Justice of India on 27 August, Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday has postponed the change of guard ceremony that was scheduled on the same day.
"The change of guard ceremony will not to be held this Saturday (August 27, 2022) on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan due to swearing-in-ceremony of the Chief Justice of India," the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement. President Draupadi Murmu issued a warrant of appointment of Justice UU Lalit earlier this month.
The change of guard ceremony is a military tradition that finds its root from centuries old rules of the military. As per the tradition, the duty of Ceremonial Army Guard Battalion is passed on from time to time to different army battalions of the Indian Army. It is worth noting that the Ceremonial Army Guard Battalion is responsible for performing Guard of Honour to visiting dignitaries, Independence Day, Republic Day, Beating the Retreat Ceremony, along with other ceremonial duties at Rashtrapati Bhawan. As per the schedule, 6th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment will pass on the responsibility to the 8th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry of Ceremonial Guard Battalion.
Why the Change of Guard Ceremony is postponed for the second time?
It is worth noting that the Change of Guard Ceremony that was supposed to be held on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan on 23 July, was postponed at that time due to the full dress rehearsal of the assumption of office by the elected President Draupadi Murmu.
It is quite obvious that the ceremony was postponed at that time due to the clash of the venue. However, this time the reason is the inability of the President of India to be present on different occasion at the same time. Change of Guard ceremony is performed under the presence of the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan. On the other hand, President has an equally important role to play in the oath taking ceremony of the Chief Justice of India.
CJI takes oath in front of the President of India
As per the Indian Constitution, President of India administers oath to the Chief Justice of India. Hence, President Draupadi Murmu will be administering oath to the 49th CJI, Justice UU Lalit, on 27 August. It is interesting to know that President Draupadi Murmu took oath in front of former CJI NV Ramana on 25 July.
Also Read: No 'change of guard' ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Here's why
49th Chief Justice of India
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit will take the oath of 49th CJI on Saturday. Justice UU Lalit was involved in some landmark judgements in past and will also handle some major cases in his CJI tenure. In past, he was involved in the landmark judgement in Triple Talaq Case. He was also a part of the bench that sentenced Vijay Mallya to four month of imprisonment in 2017.
