Ranjan Gogoi

His maternal grandfather, Jogesh Chandra Borgohain, served as a Member of the Assam Legislative Council in the 1930s.

His maternal grandmother, Padma Kumari Gohain, was elected an MLA from Moran thrice and was the social welfare minister in the Bimala Prasad Chaliha cabinet and social welfare and sericulture minister in the Mahendra Mohan Choudhry cabinet.

Gogoi was the second child and second son among 5 children.

Each of his 4 siblings became proficient in their respective careers.

Ranjan Gogoi (born 18 November 1954) is an Indian former advocate and judge who served as the 46th Chief Justice of India from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India from 2012 to 2018.

Ranjan Gogoi was born in a Tai-Ahom family with his family residence at K.C. Gogoi Path in Dibrugarh on 18 November 1954.

His mother's family ancestry can be traced back to Ahom Kings Swargadeo Rudra Singha, Rajeswar Singha of the Ahom kingdom.

He enrolled at the bar in 1978 and practised at the Gauhati High Court under advocate JP Bhattacharjee.

His father, Kesab Chandra Gogoi served as the Chief Minister of Assam for two months in 1982.

Gogoi is the only chief justice to have been the son of a Chief Minister.

His father was Kesab Chandra Gogoi, an Indian National Congress politician who was the Chief Minister of Assam from 13 January 1982 to 19 March 1982.

Kesab Chandra Gogoi also was an MLA from Dibrugarh, as well as being a cabinet minister multiple times over his political career.

His mother was Shanti Gogoi, who was a social activist and writer.

He began to practise independently in 1991 and became a senior counsel in 1999 at the court.

His tenure on the Punjab and Haryana High Court saw orders which questioned the CBI’s promotion of SPS Rathore, despite the Ruchika Girhotra case, as well as several other judgements.

His mother, Shanti Priya Gogoi, was a prominent social activist, who founded an NGO named SEWA, in 2000, two years after the death of Kesab Chandra Gogoi in 1998.

One of five children, Gogoi's four siblings, also excelled in their respective careers.

He is also the first chief justice from Northeast India.

Gogoi studied at Cotton University and later completed his higher studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.

Gogoi served as a judge in the Gauhati High Court from 2001 to 2010, and then was transferred as a judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court from 2010 to 2011 where he later was the Chief Justice from 2011 to 2012.

He is also a member of the Committee on External Affairs in the Rajya Sabha.

Born and raised in Dibrugarh, Gogoi is from a political family and descends from the Ahom dynasty.

His maternal grandparents were both state legislators, and his grandmother, Padma Kumari Gohain, was one of the first female MLAs and one of the first female ministers in Assam cabinets.

Shanti Gogoi founded the Socio Educational Welfare Association (SEWA), an NGO which aimed to help marginalised communities, and was its president from 2002 to 2016.

Shanti Gogoi was an aunt of Shrinjan Rajkumar Gohain.

Both his maternal grandparents Jogesh Chandra Borgohain and Padma Kumari Gohain were legislators and ministers in pre-and post-Independence India.

He was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2012 and was sworn in by S. H. Kapadia.

Gogoi made several important and landmark judgements during his tenure including the updating of the National Register of Citizens for Assam, and the Soumya Murder case.

He also served on the bench that created special courts to try MLAs and MPs, and ruled against the Uttar Pradesh Government law wherein former Chief Ministers are allowed to occupy government bungalows.

His elder brother, Anjan, became an Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force until his retirement in 2013 and later became a member of the North Eastern Council.

His younger brother, Nirjan became a consultant urologist in the United Kingdom and his two younger sisters, Indira and Nandita, were members of the Assam civil service until their retirement.

His elder brother, Anjan, served as the President of SEWA after their mother's retirement in 2016.

His younger sister, Nandita, is the current President of SEWA.

He was appointed the Chief Justice of India in 2018 and served until 2019.

During his tenure, he oversaw several more important judgements, including the judgement on the Ayodhya dispute and the Rafale deal, before retiring in 2019.

In 2019, he was listed as the third most powerful person in India.

He is currently a Member of the Rajya Sabha, having been nominated by President Ram Nath Kovind on 16 March 2020.

In 2020 he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, and has served on the committee on communications and information technology, and the committee on external affairs.

He is the third Supreme Court judge to serve the Rajya Sabha, and the first to be nominated to his seat, after Ranganath Mishra and Baharul Islam, who were elected as members of the Indian National Congress.

He has also written an autobiography titled "Justice for the Judge: An Autobiography".