Bharucha, 64, has several important judgements to his credit. His verdict quashing the appointment of J Jayalalitha as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is one of his recent judgements.

Justice Bharucha also delivered an important verdict in the Veerappan case. The Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments had succumbed to the forest brigand's pressure to release his associates in exchange for Kannada superstar Raj Kumar. Bharucha's judgement said the government did not fulfil the requirements for making a valid application through the public prosecutor for withdrawal of cases against the accused.

Justice Bharucha was also part of the Constitution Bench which answered a Presidential reference on the appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges. The Bench held that the appointment of judges should be made on the basis of the recommendation made by the CJI after consultations with four seniormost Supreme Court judges.

In his judgement in the Justice Deoki Nandan Agarwala vs UOI case, Justice Bharucha held the salary drawn by HC and sc judges were taxable. In his dissenting judgement in the Narmada dam case, Justice Bharucha said construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam should be stopped until the rehabilitation of displaced people was completed.

Born on May 6, 1937, Justice Bharucha started practising in the Bombay High Court at the age of 23. He was appointed Additional Judge of the court in 1977.

Later, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. He was elevated to the apex court on July 1, 1992. He has a very short tenure as CJI and is due to retire on May 6, next year.