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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 of his appointment.
Justice Katju, 65, delivered landmark judgements that included favouring passive euthanasia, death penalty for honour killings, and 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 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 S.N. 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.
