Justice Altamas Kabir, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court will be sworn in as the next Chief Justice of India today. Justice Kabir, 64, who will succeed Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia, will serve a tenure of nine months till July next year. 

The new appointee has delivered several landmark judgments including those on human rights and election laws.

Justice Kabir, the Chief Justice-designate, at a farewell function for Justice Kapadia on Friday at the Supreme Court premises, described the latter as a man full of wisdom, self-imposed discipline and loved by many people as he stood by what he decided and is a true replica of Abraham Lincoln. 

He recalled that once Justice Kapadia said "integrity is his only asset". He said that could be the catchline but added that he had qualities which were much more than integrity as a judge.

Known for his integrity, hard work and judicial reticence, 65-year-old Justice Kapadia was part of the bench that gave its opinion on Presidential Reference on allocation of natural resources on Thursday, holding that auction is not the only route for giving them away.

An expert on tax laws, Justice Kapadia, who completes 22 years of judicial career, had a word of advice for judges, asking them to be objective and professional. (pti)