Chief Justice of India

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint the chief justice, as recommended by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges of the Supreme Court. The chief justice serves until the age of 65 or if removed early by the constitutional process of impeachment. The chief justice ranks sixth in the Order of precedence in India.^[5] As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and other administrative functions of the Court.

Surya Kant is the incumbent and 53rd chief justice of India, and was appointed on 24th November 2025.^[6][7]

Appointment

The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint the chief justice, as recommended by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges of the Supreme Court.^[8] As an incumbent chief justice approaches retirement, the ministry of law and justice seeks a recommendation for the next chief justice from the incumbent office holder. The recommendation is then presented to the prime minister, who will advice the president in the matter of appointment.^[9]

As per convention, the successor suggested by the incumbent chief justice is most often the next senior most judge of the Supreme Court by tenure. However, this convention has been broken twice, when A. N. Ray was appointed in 1973, superseding three senior judges–J. M. Shelat, A. N. Grover and K. S. Hegde,^[10] and when M. H. Beg was appointed in 1977, superseding H. R. Khanna.^[11]

Tenure and removal

Once appointed, the chief justice remains in office until the age 65, unless removed earlier.^[12] As per the Article 124(4) of the Constitution of India, the procedure for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court, is applicable to the chief justice as well. The chief justice can be removed through impeachment by the parliament.^[13]

A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

— Article 124(4), Constitution of India

For initiating impeachment proceedings against a chief justice, at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha or 100 members of Lok Sabha shall issue the notice as per the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968.^[14] Post the notice, a judicial committee would be formed to frame charges against the judge, to conduct a fair trial and to submit a report to parliament. When the judicial committee report finds the judge guilty of misbehavior or incapacity, further removal proceedings would be taken up by the parliament if the judge is not resigning himself.^[15][16][17] The judge upon proven guilty is also liable for punishment per applicable laws or for contempt of the constitution by breaching the oath under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.^[18]

Emoluments

As per the Article 125 of the constitution, the Indian parliament is responsible for determining the salary, and other emolutments of the judges. However, the parliament is not allowed alter any of these privileges rights to the judge's disadvantage after their appointment. Accordingly, such provisions have been laid down in The Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.^[19][20] This remuneration was revised in 2006–2008 after the Sixth Central Pay Commission's recommendation,^[21] and increased further in 2016 as per the seventh pay commission.^[22] The chief justice earns basic salary of ₹280 per month.^[23]

Powers and functions

As the head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases to the other judges, and the appointment of constitutional benches that deal with important matters of law or the interpretation of the constitution. If the chief justice allocates a work to the other judges, they are bound to refer the matter back to the chief justice for re-allocation if it to be looked into by another group of experienced judges or conflict of interest. The chief justice carries out administrative functions such as the maintenance of the roster, appointment of court officials, and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court, and is aided by the officials of the Court.^[24] The chief justice also serves as the de facto chancellor of National Law School of India University and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences.^[25]

Acting president

As per the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969, the chief justice shall act as the president if the offices of both the president and the vice president are vacant. As per the convention, then the senior most judge of the Supreme Court takes over as the role of the chief justice.^[26] When president Zakir Hussain died in office in May 1969, vice president V. V. Giri acted as the president. Later, when Giri resigned as the vice president, to contest in the 1969 Indian presidential election, Mohammad Hidayatullah, then chief justice, became the acting president. When the newly elected president took office a month later, Hidayatullah reverted to his role as the chief justice.^[27]

See also

• Collegium system
• List of landmark court decisions in India
• List of sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India
• National Judicial Appointments Commission
• High courts of India
• Tribunals in India

Notes

1. ^ The chief justice can be impeached by the Parliament of India, and removed from office, before the end of the tenure.

References

1. ^ "Judges of the Supreme Court". Supreme Court of India. Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
2. ^ "Chief Justices' of India". Supreme Court of India. Archived 29 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
3. ^ "Supreme Court, High Court judges get nearly 200% salary hike". The Hindustan Times. 30 January 2018. Archived 30 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
4. ^ "Delhi confidential: Mutual Praise". The Indian Express. 24 August 2021. Archived 19 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
5. ^ "Order of Precedence of India". Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
6. ^ "CJI Gavai recommends Justice Surya Kant as next Chief Justice of India". The New Indian Express. 27 October 2025. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
7. ^ "Justice Surya Kant sworn in as 53rd Chief Justice of India". The Hindu. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
8. ^ "Memorandum of procedure of appointment of Supreme Court Judges | India". Archived 9 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
9. ^ "Memorandum showing the procedure for appointment of the chief justice of India". Ministry of Law and Justice. 8 November 2021. Archived 9 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
10. ^ "Long March of the Supreme Court Bar Association". Lexite. Archived 4 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
11. ^ Anil B. Divan (15 March 2004). "Cry Freedom". The Indian Express. Archived 24 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
12. ^ Chhibber, Maneesh (25 April 2014). "CJIs must have fixed tenures: Sathasivam". The Indian Express. Archived 26 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
13. ^ "Article 124, Constitution of India". Vakilno1.com. Archived 26 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
14. ^ "The Supreme Court refuses to ban the SC-ST act". Archived from the original on 27 January 2019.
15. ^ "Motion for removal of Mr. Justice Soumitra Sen, Judge, Calcutta High Court". Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, October 2011. pp. 414–419. Archived 26 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
16. ^ Bhushan, Prashant (4 June 1993). "A historic non-impeachment". Frontline. Archived 9 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
17. ^ Phukan, Sandeep & Nair, Sobhana K. (28 March 2018). "Talks revived to consider impeachment of CJI". The Hindu. Archived 9 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
18. ^ "The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act of 1971". Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
19. ^ "The High Court and Supreme Court Judges Salaries and Conditions of Service Amendment Bill 2008". PRS India. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
20. ^ "Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1958". Ministry of Home Affairs, India. Archived 4 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
21. ^ Archived copy. 2008. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
22. ^ "Pay, Allowance and Pension". Department of Justice. Archived 19 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
23. ^ "Salaries of SC, HC judges to increase three-fold". The Times of India. Archived 7 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
24. ^ Saxena, Namit (23 December 2016). "New Captain Of The Ship, Change In Sailing Rules Soon?". Live Law. Archived 24 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
25. ^ "Chancellor - The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences". West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. Archived 6 July 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
26. ^ "President Discharge of Functions Act 1969". Legal Crystal. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
27. ^ "Mohammad Hidayatullah". Supreme Court observer. Retrieved 1 June 2025.

External links

• Official website of Supreme Court of India