Chief Justice of India
| Chief Justice of India | |
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| Bhārata kē Mukhya Nyāyādhīśa | |
 Insignia of the SCI | |
 Supreme court Flag | |
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| Supreme Court | |
| Type | Chief Justice |
| Status | Presiding Judge of Supreme Court of India |
| Abbreviation | CJI |
| Residence | 5, Krishna Menon Marg, Sunehri Bagh, New Delhi, India[1] |
| Seat | Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, India |
| Nominator | Outgoing Chief Justice of India, generally on the basis of Seniority |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | Until the age of 65[2] |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of India (under Article 124) |
| Formation | 26 January 1950 |
| First holder | H. J. Kania (1950–1951)[3] |
| Succession | 6th (on the Indian order of precedence) |
| Salary | ₹280,000 (US$3,400) (per month)[4] |
| Website | sci.gov.in |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Judiciary of India |
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| Law of India |
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) (ISO: Bhārata kē Mukhya Nyāyādhīśa) 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, as recommended by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges, (as envisaged in Article 124 (2) of the Constitution)[5] the next Chief Justice, who will serve until they reach the age of 65 or are removed by the constitutional process of impeachment.
As per convention, the successor suggested by the incumbent chief justice is most often the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court. However, this convention has been broken twice. In 1973, Justice A. N. Ray was appointed, superseding three senior judges, and in 1977 when Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg was appointed as Chief Justice, superseding Justice Hans Raj Khanna.
As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches that deal with important matters of law.[6] In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the chief justice has to allocate work to the other judges who are bound to refer the matter back to them (for re-allocation) in any case where they require it to be looked into by another group of experienced judges.
On the administrative side, the Chief Justice carries out functions of maintenance of the roster, appointment of court officials, and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice is de facto Chancellor of National Law School of India University.
The 51st and present Chief Justice is Sanjiv Khanna. He was sworn in as Chief Justice on 11 November 2024.[7]
Appointment
[edit]As the incumbent Chief Justice approaches retirement, the Ministry of Law and Justice seeks a recommendation from the incumbent Chief Justice. Consultations with other judges might also take place. The recommendation is then presented to the prime minister, who will advice the President in the matter of appointment.[8]
Removal
[edit]Article 124(4) of the Constitution of India lays down the procedure for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court, which is applicable to Chief Justices as well. Once appointed, the Chief Justice remains in office until age 65. There is no fixed tenure provided in the constitution. [citation needed] He can be removed only through a process of removal by Parliament as follows:
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, [9]
Acting president
[edit]The President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969 specifies the Chief Justice of India shall act as the president of India in the event of the offices of both the president and the vice president being vacant.[10] When President Zakir Hussain died in office, Vice President V. V. Giri acted as the president. Later, V V Giri resigned as the vice president, the chief justice, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah became the acting president of India. As per the convention, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court become the acting Chief Justice. When the newly elected president took office a month later, Justice Hidayatullah reverted as the Chief Justice of India.
Remuneration
[edit]The Constitution of India gives the power of deciding remuneration as well as other conditions of service of the chief justice to the Parliament of India. Accordingly, such provisions have been laid down in The Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.[11][12] This remuneration was revised in 2006–2008 after the Sixth Central Pay Commission's recommendation.[13] According to the Seventh pay commission, in 2016, the salary was revised.[14]
List of Chief Justices
[edit]See also
[edit]- Collegium system
- Supreme Court of India
- High courts of India
- Tribunals in India
- Judiciary of India
- Constitution of India
- List of chief justices of India
- National Judicial Appointments Commission
- List of landmark court decisions in India
Current Judiciary
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Delhi confidential: Mutual Praise". 24 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ "Supreme Court of India - CJI & Sitting Judges". Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ "Supreme Court of India Retired Hon'ble the Chief Justices' of India". Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ "Supreme Court, High Court judges get nearly 200% salary hike". Hindustan Times. 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Memorandum of procedure of appointment of Supreme Court Judges | India". Archived from the original on 9 March 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ Saxena, Namit (23 December 2016). "New Captain Of The Ship, Change In Sailing Rules Soon?". Live Law. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ Justice Sanjiv Khanna commences judicial proceedings as 51st CJI, thanks lawyers
- ^ Ministry of Law and Justice, Department Of Justice (8 November 2021). "MEMORANDUM SHOWING THE PROCEDURE FOR APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF India AND JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA". Archived from the original on 9 March 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Article 124, Constitution of India". Vakilno1.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ "President Discharge of Functions Act 1969 Complete Act - Citation 134059 - Bare Act | LegalCrystal". Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "The High Court and Supreme Court Judges Salaries and Conditions of Service Amendment Bill 2008" (PDF). PRS India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ^ "Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1958" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ^ Archived copy (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Pay, Allowance and Pension | Department of Justice | India". Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Chief Justices of India at Wikimedia Commons- Official website of Supreme Court of India
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