Ranjan Gogoi Retires As Rajya Sabha MP ; Zero Questions & 1 Debate In 6 Year Term

Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi's term as a nominated member to the Rajya Sabha has come to an end.

When the house commenced at 11 AM, Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan bid farewell to Gogoi, announcing his retirement. "As a distinguished Jurist, he brought unparalleled legal acumen and experience to the deliberations of the Rajya Sabha. His interventions in the Rajya Sabha reflected his deep understanding of the legislative process and public interest. The House will miss his wise counsel, measured interventions and the gravitas he brought to the House," the Chairman said.

It was on March 16, 2020, that Gogoi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Central Government, in a move that raised several eyebrows, as it came within four months of his retirement as the Chief Justice of India. The nomination was widely criticised on being perceived to be a 'quid-pro-quo' for giving judgments favourable to the executive.

The Bar Council of India Chairman had then hailed Gogoi's nomination, saying that he will act as a "bridge between the judiciary and the executive."

However, the record of Gogoi's performance as a nominated member does not present a particularly active legislative engagement. His attendance was nearly 53%, as per the data compiled by PRS.

The data available on the Rajya Sabha website shows that in his six-year term, he has participated only in one debate, which pertained to the Delhi Services Bill in August 2023. In his speech supporting the Bill - which was aimed at taking away the powers of the elected Delhi Government in controlling services - Gogoi even went to the extent of denouncing the 'basic structure doctrine', saying that it "has a very debatable jurisprudential basis". This statement ran counter to a judgment penned by Gogoi as the CJI in the Rojer Mathew case, in which he had endorsed the basic structure doctrine, and had quashed the Tribunal Rules 2017 for diluting judicial independence, which was held to be a part of basic structure.

Although the Parliament discussed various crucial laws during this term, such as the farm laws, new criminal laws, the Tribunal Reforms Act, the Waqf Amendment Act, and a Constitution amendment bill pertaining to women's reservation, the jurist did not participate in those debates.

It is also pertinent to note that Gogoi has not raised a single question during this term. Nor has he moved any private member bill.

In December 2021, when NDTV journalist Srinivasan Jain questioned Ranjan Gogoi about his low attendance, he replied that it was mostly due to Covid. He added that he was not comfortable with the seating arrangement during the pandemic. "I go to the Rajya Sabha when I feel like, when I think there are matters of importance on which I should speak. I go there at my choice and come out at my choice. I am not governed by any party whip" Gogoi said in that interview.