R. S. Pathak

Raghunandan Swarup Pathak was an Indian jurist who lived from 1924 to 2007. After studying law at Allahabad University, he served as a judge of the Allahabad High Court from 1962 to 1972, chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from 1972 to 1978, and a judge of the Supreme Court of India from 1978 to 1986, before becoming the eighteenth Chief Justice of India from December 1986 to June 1989. As Chief Justice he oversaw the appointment of twelve judges, five of whom went on to become Chief Justices themselves, and he authored 267 judgments during his tenure. Following retirement, Pathak served as a judge of the International Court of Justice from 1989 to 1991, one of only four Indian jurists to have held that position.