NEW DELHI (TIP): Justice P Sathasivam was on July 19 sworn in as the 40th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Pranab Mukherjee. He took over the post from Justice Altamas Kabir, who served as the CJI for over nine months. Justice Sathasivam, 64, took oath in the name of God at a brief ceremony at Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley, NDA Working Chairperson L K Advani, CPI leader D Raja, several Union ministers were present at the ceremony.

Justice Sathasivam was elevated to the Supreme Court in August, 2007 and would demit office on April 26, 2014. Like his predecessor, Justice Sathasivam is opposed to scrapping of the present collegium system for appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges.