Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (25 November 1924 – 17 November 2007) was the 18th

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

. He was the son of

Gopal Swarup Pathak Gopal Swarup Pathak (26 February 1896 – 4 October 1982) was the fourth vice president of India from August 1969 to August 1974. He was the first Indian vice president not to succeed his superior as President. Life Born on 26 February 1896 at ...

, a former

Vice President of India The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...

. He was one of the four judges from India to have been on the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

(the others being

Benegal Narsing Rau Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (26 February 1887 – 30 November 1953) was an Indian civil servant, jurist, diplomat and statesman known for his key role in drafting the Constitution of India. He was the Constitutional Advisor to Constituent Assembly ...

who served at ICJ during 1952 to 1953

Nagendra Singh Maharaj Sri Nagendra Singh (18 March 1914 – 11 December 1988) was an Indian lawyer and administrator who served as President of the International Court of Justice from 1985 to 1988. He was one of the four judges from India to have been Judg ...

who served as its President from 1985 to 1988 and former Supreme Court justice Dalveer Bhandari, who currently sits upon the World Court). He did his schooling from

St. Joseph's College, Allahabad St. Joseph's College, abbreviated to SJC, established in 1884, is a prominent CISCE-affiliated elite school in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, with high rankings both in the state and in India. It is affiliated with the Council for the Indian ...

and had studied law at Allahabad University. After practising law at Allahabad, he became Judge at

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...

in 1962 and later Chief Justice of

Himachal Pradesh High Court The Himachal Pradesh High Court is the High Court of the state of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh was born as a result of integration of twenty six Province and four Punjab hill States into a Centrally Administered Area on 15 Ap ...

in 1972.

At the Supreme Court of India

Pathak was made a judge at

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

in 1978 and became its 18th Chief Justice on 21 December 1986. He is remembered as a judge who was a man of the middle and was able to bring relative peace to the Court. He served as Chief justice for two and a half years during which time a dozen judges were appointed to the Court. Five of them —

Madhukar Hiralal Kania Madhukar Hiralal Kania (18 November 1927 – 1 February 2016) was an Indian judge who became the 23rd Chief Justice of India, serving from 13 December 1991 until his retirement on 17 November 1992. He was born in Bombay. His uncle was Sir Hari ...

Lalit Mohan Sharma Lalit Mohan Sharma (12 February 1928 – 3 November 2008) was the 24th Chief Justice of India. He was the son of L.N. Sinha, former Attorney General of India. He served as Chief Justice of India from 18 November 1992 until 11 February 19 ...

, Manepalle Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah,

Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (A. M. Ahmadi) (born 25 March 1932) was the 26th Chief Justice of India. After serving as a judge in the Gujarat High Court, Ahmadi was appointed judge to the Supreme Court in 1988. He was then elevated to the post of Chie ...

, and

Jagdish Sharan Verma Jagdish Sharan Verma (18 January 1933 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian jurist who served as the 27th Chief Justice of India from 25 March 1997 to 18 January 1998. He was the chairman of National Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2003, and ...

— went on to serve as Chief Justices between 1991 and 1998.

Bhopal gas disaster

Pathak facilitated an out of court settlement between

Union Carbide Corporation Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befo ...

and the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 1989 regarding the compensation to be paid for the

Bhopal gas tragedy The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's w ...

. The government had sought $3.3 billion but received only $470 million and the settlement resulted in the dropping of

criminal liability In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agencie ...

charges against Union Carbide in the case. Within three months of his retirement Pathak became a member of the International Court of Justice at

. The Supreme Court in 1991 upheld the settlement in 1991 thus ending Union Carbide's liability in the case.

Judge of the International Court of Justice

Pathak was elected a judge of the International Court of Justice and served in that position from 1989 to 1991. He was elected in "casual election" that was held following the death of M. Nagendra Singh, an Indian judge who was then serving his second term at the International Court. In 1991 India decided not to renominate Pathak, who however entered the fray with the backing of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. After the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

came under attack in the Dáil from MPs who blamed Pathak for approving, as Chief Justice of India, the $470-million

Bhopal gas disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's wo ...

settlement with

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...

, Pathak withdrew from the race.

Oil-for-Food Programme inquiry

In November 2005, Justice Pathak was appointed to inquire into alleged Indian links in the

Oil-for-Food Programme The Oil-for-Food Programme (OIP), established by the United Nations in 1995 (under United Nations Security Council, UN Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 986, Resolution 986) was established to allow Iraq to sell Petrole ...

. On 3 August 2006, he submitted his 90-page report which indicted suspended Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh.

Death

Pathak died on 17 November 2007, at the age of 82 following a heart attack in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

.Former CJI R S Pathak passes away
/ref> His death occurred a week before his 83rd birthday.

References

External links

Official Supreme Court of India Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathak, R. S. Chief justices of India 1924 births 2007 deaths International Court of Justice judges Chief Justices of the Himachal Pradesh High Court 20th-century Indian judges Judges of the Allahabad High Court 20th-century Indian lawyers Indian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals