Judicial Career
Justice R.C. Lahoti started his career by joining the Bar Council in District Guna in 1960 and was enrolled as an advocate in 1962. In April of 1977, he was recruited directly from the Bar to the State Higher Judicial Service and was appointed as a District & Sessions Judge. Soon he resigned in May 1978 and reverted to the Bar for practicing in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
He was appointed as a Judge in the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 3rd, 1988. Later he was transferred to the Delhi High Court on Feb 2nd, 1994. He assumed the office as a Judge of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on Dec 9th, 1998. Later he became the Chief Justice of India on June 1st, 2004, and served the post till Oct 31st, 2005.
Honours Conferred
- 2006: Rani Durgawati Vishvavidhyalaya Jabalpur conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) in the august presence of H.E. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India.
- 2006: Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, presented him with the National Law Day Award for his unique contribution in the field of administration of justice making it more friendly to the people at large.
- 2007: Lok Jagran, Tulsi Shodh Sansthan, Allahabad decorated him with ‘Goswami Tulsidas Samarohan Samman’.
- 2008: Vikram Vishvawidyalaya Ujjain conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa).
- 2008: Shri Ramayanam Trust, Shreedham Ayodhya decorated him with ‘Shri Ramkinkar Samman’.
- 2009: Shree Rajeev Lochanam Trust, Jabalpur decorated him with 'Swami Shree Akhandanand Saraswati Alankaran'.
- 2009: Shree Sadguru Swami Akhandanand Memorial Charitable Trust, Varumaal (Gujrat) decorated him with the national honour – 'Shree Bhavbhaveshwar Rashtra-nidhi Ratna'.
Conferences Attended
- Fourth Indo-US Legal Forum Meet (Washington & San Francisco, 2002)
- Law-Asia Conference (Tokyo, Japan, 2003)
- SAARCLAW Conference (Karachi, Pakistan, 2004)
- Biennial Conference of International Law Association (Berlin, Germany, 2004)
- Yale Law School Seminars on Global Constitutionalism (2000, 2003, 2005)
- The Eighth SAARCLAW Conference (Paro, Bhutan, 2005)
- 14th Commonwealth Law Conference (London, 2005)
- Worldwide Common Law Judiciary Conference of Chief Justices (Washington USA, 2005)