He began his legal career in his father's chambers in 1955, and was appointed as a Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court in October 1979.
In October 1989, he was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and became Chief Justice of India in January 1998.
Post retirement, he was appointed by the Government of India as the Chairman of the Centre State relations commission, subsequently known as the Punchhi commission, which dealt with matters pertaining to the Centre-State relations in India.