New Delhi, Jan 4 (UNI) Jagdish Singh Khehar is the first Sikh to adorn the post of Chief Justice of India, as per Supreme Court records. In a statement, the Supreme Court Bar Association said he is a judge of great integrity and knowledge. CJI Khehar, a postgraduate in Law from the Panjab University Chandigarh, has served at the bar as well as the bench for 37 years before attaining the top judicial post of the nation. A topper in the 1977-79 LLM batch of the varsity, Justice Khehar has 17 years experience at the bench at various high courts and the Supreme Court. Earlier, he had served as an advocate mainly at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh, besides between 1979-1999 at the Supreme Court. Born on August 28, 1952, the newly-appointed CJI graduated in science from Government College, Chandigarh in 1974 and secured LLB degree from the Panjab University, Chandigarh three years later. He also has done post graduation in law and topped in the two year course to get the LLM degree with a gold medal. After completion of his studies, the CJI joined the bar in 1979 enrolling himself as an advocate. He practiced mainly at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh High Court, Shimla and the Supreme Court. He was appointed as Additional Advocate General (AAG) Punjab, in January 1992, and then as Senior Standing Counsel, Union Territory, Chandigarh. He was designated as senior advocate in February, 1995. CJI Khehar, as lawyer, had also served as standing counsel for universities of the area, corporate bodies and a large number of companies and cooperative organisations. He was elevated to the bench of High Court of Punjab and Haryana, at Chandigarh, on February 8, 1999. The new CJI was appointed as acting chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court twice with effect from August 2, 2008, and again, with effect from November 17, 2009. He has also worked as Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand, at Nainital and Karnataka between 2009 and 2011 and later was elevated to the Apex Court in September 2011. August 28, 2017, will mark the end of the tenure of CJI Khehar. UNI XC SW RP1928