List of chief justices of India explained

The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India. As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.^[1] In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the chief justice allocates all work to the other judges.^[2]

A new chief justice is appointed by the president of India with recommendations by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges.^[3] The chief justice serves in the role until they reach the age of sixty-five or are removed by the constitutional process of impeachment.^[2] As per convention, the name suggested by the incumbent chief justice is almost always the next senior-most judge in the Supreme Court. This convention has been broken twice: in 1973, Justice A. N. Ray was appointed superseding three senior judges and in 1977, Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg was appointed as the chief justice superseding Justice Hans Raj Khanna.^[4]

A total of 50 chief justices have served in the office since the Supreme Court of India superseded the Federal Court of India in 1950. Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the 16th chief justice, is the longest-serving chief justice, serving over seven years (–), while Kamal Narain Singh, the 22nd chief justice, is the shortest-serving, for 17 days in 1991. As of 2024, there has been no woman who has served as chief justice of India.^[5] The current and 50th Chief Justice is Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, who entered office on 9 November 2022.^{[6] [7]}

List of Chief Justices of the Federal Court of India

The Federal Court of India came into being on 1 October 1937.^[8] The seat of the court was in Delhi^[9] and it functioned until the establishment of the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 1950. The first chief justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer.

Key

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Acting Chief Justice

scope=col		scope=col	Name (birth–death)	scope=col class=unsortable	Image	scope=col	Start of Term	scope=col	End of Term	scope=col	Length of term	scope=col	Parent Bar / High Court	scope=col	Appointed by(Governor-General of India)	scope=col class=unsortable
scope=row	1	(1878–1952)					Inner Temple		^[10]
scope=row data-sort-value=1.5	—	(1881–1970)	—				Madras
scope=row	2	(1885–1973)	—				Inner Temple
scope=row	3	(1890–1951)					Bombay		^[11]

List of Chief Justices of India

Died in office
	Resigned

scope=col		scope=col	Name (birth–death)	scope=col class=unsortable	Image	scope=col	Start of Term	scope=col	End of Term	scope=col	Length of Term	scope=col	Parent High Court	scope=col	Appointed by (President of India)	scope=col class=unsortable
scope=row	1	(1890–1951)					Bombay
scope=row	2	(1889–1963)					Madras	^[12]
scope=row	3	(1889–1967)					Lahore	^[13]
scope=row	4	(1891–1956)					Calcutta	^[14]
scope=row	5	(1894–1977)					Calcutta	^[15]
scope=row	6	(1899–1986)					Patna	^[16]
scope=row	7	(1901–1981)					Bombay		^[17]
scope=row	8	(1901–2001)					Calcutta	^[18]
scope=row	9	(1902–1976)					Hyderabad	^[19]
scope=row	10	(1903–1988)					Allahabad	^[20]
scope=row	11	(1905–1992)					Bombay		^[21]
scope=row	12	(1906–1991)					Bombay		^[22]
scope=row	13	(1908–1992)					Bar Council	^[23]
scope=row	14	(1912–2009)					Calcutta	^[24]
scope=row	15	(1913–1988)					Allahabad		^[25]
scope=row	16	(1920–2008)					Bombay		^[26]
scope=row	17	(1921–2017)					Gujarat		^[27]
scope=row	18	(1924–2007)			^‡		Allahabad	^[28]
scope=row	19	(1924–1997)					Karnataka		^[29]
scope=row	20	(1927–1990)					Calcutta	^[30]
scope=row	21	(1926–2012)					Orissa	^[31]
scope=row	22	(1926–2022)					Allahabad	^[32]
scope=row	23	(1927–2016)					Bombay	^[33]
scope=row	24	(1928–2008)					Patna		^[34]
scope=row	25	(born 1929)					Karnataka	^[35]
scope=row	26	(1932–2023)					Gujarat	^[36]
scope=row	27	(1933–2013)					Madhya Pradesh	^[37]
scope=row	28	(1933–2015)					Punjab and Haryana		^[38]
scope=row	29	(1936–2017)					Jammu and Kashmir	^[39]
scope=row	30	(born 1937)					Bombay	^[40]
scope=row	31	(born 1937)					Delhi	^[41]
scope=row	32	(born 1937)					Orissa		^[42]
scope=row	33	(born 1939)					Allahabad	^[43]
scope=row	34	(born 1939)					Karnataka	^[44]
scope=row	35	(1940–2022)					Madhya Pradesh	^[45]
scope=row	36	(1942–2015)					Delhi	^[46]
scope=row	37	(born 1945)					Kerala	^[47]
scope=row	38	(1947–2016)					Bombay		^[48]
scope=row	39	(1948–2017)					Calcutta		^[49]
scope=row	40	(born 1949)					Madras		^[50]
scope=row	41	(born 1949)					Rajasthan		^[51]
scope=row	42	(born 1950)					Karnataka		^[52]
scope=row	43	(born 1952)					Jammu and Kashmir		^[53]
scope=row	44	(born 1952)					Punjab and Haryana		^[54]
scope=row	45	(born 1953)					Orissa		^[55]
scope=row	46	(born 1954)					Gauhati		^[56]
scope=row	47	(born 1956)		^[57]			Bombay		^[58]
scope=row	48	(born 1957)					Andhra Pradesh		^[59]
scope=row	49	(born 1957)					Bar Council		^[60]
scope=row	50	(born 1959)			Incumbent		Bombay		^[61]

See also

• List of current Indian chief justices
• List of sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India
• List of female judges of the Supreme Court of India
• List of former judges of the Supreme Court of India

Notes and References

1. News: New Captain Of The Ship, Change In Sailing Rules Soon?. Saxena. Namit. 23 December 2016. Live Law. en-US. 24 December 2016. 24 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161224043055/http://www.livelaw.in/new-captain-ship-change-sailing-rules-soon/. live.
2. Web site: The Constitution of India . 58–59 . India Code . Ministry of Law and Justice (India) - Legislative Department . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231229125904/https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/16124/1/the_constitution_of_india.pdf . Dec 29, 2023 .
3. Web site: Memorandum of procedure of appointment of Supreme Court Judges . 11 August 2021 . . 18 April 2024 . 9 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240309100126/https://doj.gov.in/memorandum-of-procedure-of-appointment-of-supreme-court-judges/ . live .
4. Web site: How is India's Chief Justice of India chosen? . 8 October 2022 . . 21 April 2024 . 21 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221021110522/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/how-is-indias-top-judge-chosen-8195870/ . live . subscription.
5. Web site: SC judge: Need more women for gender-neutral judiciary . 6 January 2024 . Amit Anand Choudhary . Justice B V Nagarathna, who will be the 54th Chief Justice of India and the first woman CJI in 2027 ... . 27 April 2024 . . 27 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240427083431/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sc-judge-need-more-women-for-gender-neutral-judiciary/articleshow/106583647.cms . live .
6. Web site: 31 December 2021 . 4 of the Next 7 CJIs Will Serve Shorter Than Average Tenures . Ayushi Saraogi . Joyston D'Souza . 27 April 2024 . Supreme Court Observer . en . 21 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121181233/https://www.scobserver.in/journal/4-of-the-next-7-cjis-will-serve-shorter-than-average-tenures/ . live.
7. News: ANI . 9 November 2022 . Justice DY Chandrachud takes oath as the 50th Chief Justice of India . en-IN . . 29 April 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221109060515/https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/justice-dy-chandrachud-takes-oath-as-the-50th-chief-justice-of-india-122110900346_1.html . 9 November 2022 .
8. Evolution of the Federal Court of India: An Historical Footnote . 43950330 . George H. Gadbois Jr. . . 5 . 1 . 1963 . 19–46 . ... October 1, 1937, the inaugural date of the Federal Court of India.... 23 May 2024 . 10 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221010135059/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43950330 . live.
9. Book: Kumar. Raj. Essays on Legal Systems in India. Discovery Publishing House. New Delhi. 2003. 108–11. 81-7141-701-9. 21 April 2024. 30 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020815/https://books.google.com/books?id=nMzU5mv7zhgC&q=Federal+Court+of+India&pg=PA108#v=snippet&q=Federal%20Court%20of%20India&f=false. live.
10. The Federal Court of India: 1937-1950 . George H. Gadbois Jr. . . 6 . 2/3 . 1964 . 253–315 . 43949806 . Gwyer retired in 1943 and was replaced by Sir William Patrick Spens. ...Varadachariar served very briefly as acting Chief Justice in 1943 between the date of Gwyer's retirement and the arrival in India of Spens. ... Two days before independence Chief Justice Spens resigned, and the then seniormost puisne judge, Kania, became the first Indian to hold India's highest judicial office. . 21 April 2024 . 17 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221117053521/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43949806 . live .
11. Web site: Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074915/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-harilal-jekisundas-kania/ . live .
12. Web site: Justice M Patanjali Sastri . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074847/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-m-patanjali-sastri/ . live .
13. Web site: Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074838/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-mehr-chand-mahajan/ . live .
14. Web site: Justice Bijan Kumar Mukherjea . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074852/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-bijan-kumar-mukherjea/ . live .
15. Web site: Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074846/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-sudhi-ranjan-das/ . live .
16. Web site: Justice Bhuvneshwar Prasad Sinha . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074906/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-bhuvneshwar-prasad-sinha/ . live .
17. Web site: Justice P B Gajendragadkar . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074940/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-p-b-gajendragadkar/ . live .
18. Web site: Justice A K Sarkar . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074942/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-a-k-sarkar/ . live .
19. Web site: Justice K Subba Rao . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074934/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-k-subba-rao/ . live .
20. Web site: Justice K N Wanchoo . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074954/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-k-n-wanchoo/ . live .
21. Web site: Justice M Hidayatullah . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020928/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-m-hidayatullah-/ . live .
22. Web site: Justice J C sshah . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074830/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-j-c-shah/ . live .
23. Web site: Justice S M Sikri . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075126/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-s-m-sikri/ . live .
24. Web site: Justice A N Ray . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074850/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-a-n-ray/ . live .
25. Web site: Justice M Hameedullah Beg . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074900/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-m-hameedullah-beg/ . live .
26. Web site: Justice Y V Chandrachud . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074832/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-y-v-chandrachud/ . live .
27. Web site: Justice P N Bhagwati . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074840/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-p-n-bhagwati/ . live .
28. Web site: Justice R S Pathak . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074916/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-r-s-pathak/ . live .
29. Web site: Justice E S Venkataramiah . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074924/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-e-s-venkataramiah/ . live .
30. Web site: Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020755/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-sabyasachi-mukherjee-/ . live .
31. Web site: Justice Ranganath Misra . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020818/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-ranganath-misra-/ . live .
32. Web site: Justice K N Singh . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074832/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-k-n-singh/ . live .
33. Web site: Justice M H Kania . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074943/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-m-h-kania/ . live .
34. Web site: Justice L M Sharma . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075006/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-l-m-sharma/ . live .
35. Web site: Justice M N Venkatachaliah . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074906/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-m-n-venkatachaliah/ . live .
36. Web site: Justice A M Ahmadi . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074858/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-a-m-ahmadi/ . live .
37. Web site: Justice J S Verma . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075123/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-j-s-verma/ . live .
38. Web site: Justice M M Punchhi . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075121/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-m-m-punchhi/ . live .
39. Web site: Justice A S Anand . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074842/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-a-s-anand/ . live .
40. Web site: Justice S P Bharucha . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074904/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-s-p-bharucha/ . live .
41. Web site: Justice B N Kirpal . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074834/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-b-n-kirpal/ . live .
42. Web site: Justice G B Patnaik . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074851/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-g-b-patnaik/ . live .
43. Web site: Justice V N Khare . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074857/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-v-n-khare/ . live .
44. Web site: Justice S Rajendra Babu . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074907/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-s-rajendra-babu/ . live .
45. Web site: Justice R C Lahoti . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074931/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-r-c-lahoti/ . live .
46. Web site: Justice Y K Sabharwal . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074948/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-y-k-sabharwal/ . live .
47. Web site: Justice K G Balakrishnan . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074948/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-k-g-balakrishnan/ . live .
48. Web site: Justice S H Kapadia . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074926/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-s-h-kapadia/ . live .
49. Web site: Justice Altamas Kabir . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020713/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-altamas-kabir-/ . live .
50. Web site: Justice P Sathasivam . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020741/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-p-sathasivam-/ . live .
51. Web site: Justice R M Lodha . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075011/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-r-m-lodha/ . live .
52. Web site: Justice H L Dattu . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074832/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-h-l-dattu/ . live .
53. Web site: Justice T S Thakur . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074845/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-t-s-thakur/ . live .
54. Web site: Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074924/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-jagdish-singh-khehar/ . live .
55. Web site: Justice Dipak Mishra . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430020714/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-dipak-mishra-/ . live .
56. Web site: Justice Ranjan Gogoi . . 21 April 2024 . 30 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240430021951/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-ranjan-gogoi-/ . live .
57. Web site: Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as 47th CJI. The Times of India. 18 November 2019. 18 November 2019. 18 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191118152710/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/justice-bobde-takes-oath-as-next-cji/articleshow/72103117.cms. live.
58. Web site: Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128074837/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-sharad-arvind-bobde/ . live .
59. Web site: Justice N V Ramana . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075101/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-n-v-ramana/ . live .
60. Web site: Justice Uday Umesh Lalit . . 21 April 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128075012/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-uday-umesh-lalit/ . live .
61. Web site: Justice D Y Chandrachud . . 21 April 2024 . 29 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240129051350/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/dr-justice-d-y-chandrachud/ . live .