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Introduction:
The Constitution of India provides for a “Chief Justice of India” (CJI), who has the administrative charge of all courts in the country except High Courts, while assigning to him a few subordinate judicial branches to handle personal law cases and criminal matters and also to decide matters in which more than one High Court is involved. The Chief Justice of the High Court is a new creation, full-fledged in itself with the same status, dignity and importance as that of the Chief Justice of India. The Constitution of India contains no provision for any other officer called the Chief Justice’, nor any other Judge with similar rank or status to that of a Supreme Court Judge. The Chief justice administers the oaths to newly appointed ministers on behalf of the President in respect of every ministry except the defence ministry.
Who is Chief Justice?
The Chief Justice (CJ) of India is the head of the Supreme Court, and presides over most of its sittings. The CJI also sits on certain cases by virtue of office, being the senior-most judge in that case. He is an incumbent of the post after attaining seventy years in age. In addition to this, he is entitled to a salary and pension as per law.
What is the Significance of Chief Justice?
The CJI, being an office-bearer of the Supreme Court, is very important. He is at the apex of judicial hierarchy and has a lot of responsibilities to discharge. Apart from his office-related duties, he also presides over suo motu cases involving national importance when an issue is raised in the Supreme Court. He can also initiate and start a new case without consulting any other judge.
Important Facts about CJI:
1) The CJI presides over the sitting of the Supreme Court and has to deliver judgement in all cases.
2) In practice, the CJI is responsible for deciding key issues on behalf of the Supreme Court, and he is considered as the final authority in all matters regarding the court’s functioning.
3) The CJI can initiate a case without consulting any other judge. He is bound to hear every case and decide it after taking opinions from other judges. However, he does not have to give reasons for every decision taken.
4) The CJI is the first among equals as he possesses the same power and prestige as the other judges of the Supreme Court.
5) The Chief Justice of India can be impeached only with a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha and shall stand removed if so decided by a majority vote in the Rajya Sabha.
6) The CJI is considered to be an Advisory Judicial Authority of India, and chairs consultation held on appointment to high-level offices. This function was earlier performed by a collegium of senior judges.
7) The Chief Justice is responsible for allocation of cases to different Judges and benches of Indian Courts, and also allotting cases that come under his discretionary powers to particular judges or benches.
List of Chief Justices of India:
The list below highlights the past chief justice of India and their tenure:
Chief Justice of India – List | Tenure |
H.J Kania | 26 January 1950 – 6 November 1951 |
M. Patanjali Sastri | 7 November 1951 – 3 January 1954 |
Mehr Chand Mahajan | 4 January 1954 – 22 December 1954 |
Bijan Kumar Mukherjea | 23 December 1954 – 31 January 1956 |
Sudhi Ranjan Das | 1 February 1956 – 30 September 1959 |
Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha | 1 October 1959 – 31 January 1964 |
P. B. Gajendragadkar | 1 February 1964 – 15 March 1966 |
Amal Kumar Sarkar | 16 March 1966 – 29 June 1966 |
Koka Subba Rao | 30 June 1966 – 11 April 1967 |
Kailas Nath Wanchoo | 12 April 1967 – 24 February 1968 |
Mohammad Hidayatullah | 25 February 1968 – 16 December 1970 |
Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah | 17 December 1970 – 21 January 1971 |
Sarv Mittra Sikri | 22 January 1971 – 25 April 1973 |
A. N. Ray | 26 April 1973 – 27 January 1977 |
Mirza Hameedullah Beg | 29 January 1977 – 21 February 1978 |
Y. V. Chandrachud | 22 February 1978 – 11 July 1985 |
P. N. Bhagwati | 12 July 1985 – 20 December 1986 |
Raghunandan Swarup Pathak | 21 December 1986 – 18 June 1989 |
Engalaguppe Seetharamaiah Venkataramiah | 19 June 1989 – 17 December 1989 |
Sabyasachi Mukharji | 18 December 1989 – 25 September 1990 |
Ranganath Misra | 26 September 1990 – 24 November 1991 |
Kamal Narain Singh | 25 November 1991 – 12 December 1991 |
Madhukar Hiralal Kania | 13 December 1991 – 17 November 1992 |
Lalit Mohan Sharma | 18 November 1992 – 11 February 1993 |
M. N. Venkatachaliah | 12 February 1993 – 24 October 1994 |
Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi | 25 October 1994 – 24 March 1997 |
J. S. Verma | 25 March 1997 – 17 January 1998 |
Madan Mohan Punchhi | 18 January 1998 – 9 October 1998 |
Adarsh Sein Anand | 10 October 1998 – 31 October 2001 |
Sam Piroj Bharucha | 1 November 2001 – 5 May 2002 |
Bhupinder Nath Kirpal | 6 May 2002 – 7 November 2002 |
Gopal Ballav Pattanaik | 8 November 2002 – 18 December 2002 |
V. N. Khare | 19 December 2002 – 1 May 2004 |
S. Rajendra Babu | 2 May 2004 – 31 May 2004 |
Ramesh Chandra Lahoti | 1 June 2004 – 31 October 2005 |
Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal | 1 November 2005 – 13 January 2007 |
K. G. Balakrishnan | 14 January 2007 – 12 May 2010 |
S. H. Kapadia | 12 May 2010 – 28 September 2012 |
Altamas Kabir | 29 September 2012 – 18 July 2013 |
P. Sathasivam | 19 July 2013 – 26 April 2014 |
Rajendra Mal Lodha | 27 April 2014 – 27 September 2014 |
H. L. Dattu | 28 September 2014 – 2 December 2015 |
T. S. Thakur | 3 December 2015 – 3 January 2017 |
Jagdish Singh Khehar | 4 January 2017 – 27 August 2017 |
Dipak Misra | 28 August 2017 – 2 October 2018 |
Ranjan Gogoi | 3 October 2018 – 17 November 2019 |
Sharad Arvind Bobde | 18 November 2019 – 23 April 2021 |
NV Ramana (Will retire on 26 August 2022) | 23 April 2021 – Incumbent |
Conclusion:
So the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the most important and powerful judge of the Supreme Court of India. He is the first among equals and wields enormous powers in judicial administration. The appointment of Chief Justice is made by the President of India on recommendations by Judges.
