Justice Sanjiv Khanna to be the next Chief Justice of India, here is how the CJI is appointed

The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking judicial officer in India and the chief judge of the Supreme Court. The CJI is appointed by the President of India under Article 124 of the Constitution.

Bobins AbrahamUpdated: Oct 25, 2024, 08:49 IST

2 min read

Justice Sanjiv Khanna to be the next Chief Justice of India, here is how the CJI is appointed

CREDIT: BCCL

The Centre on Thursday cleared the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), to succeed incumbent Justice DY Chandrachud, who is due to retire on 10 November.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from 11 November 2024," a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice said.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna to be the next Chief Justice of India, here is how the CJI is appointed CREDIT: BCCL

How is Chief Justice of India appointed

The CJI is the highest-ranking judicial officer in India and the chief judge of the Supreme Court. The CJI is appointed by the President of India under Article 124 of the Constitution.

Incumbent CJI recommends successor

The process of appointing a new CJI starts with the incumbent formally recommending their successor. As per the rules, the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court will be the Chief Justice, and the outgoing CJI will recommend the senior-most judge as their successor. Seniority is determined based on the length of service as a Supreme Court judge and not age.

It should be noted that while the President consults with the outgoing CJI in appointing the successor, they are not bound by the principle of seniority and have the discretion to appoint any judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice.

Also read: Who is Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the next Chief Justice of India?

Justice Sanjiv Khanna to be the next Chief Justice of India, here is how the CJI is appointed CREDIT: BCCL

CJI holds office till age of 65

Once appointed, the new Chief Justice of India takes the oath of office before the President and holds the office until the age of 65.

This could mean that a CJI could be in office for just a few days or could hold the post for years, based on the age at which they were appointed.

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Longest and shortest-serving CJIs

The shortest-serving CJI was Kamal Narain Singh, who only served for 17 days from 25 November 1991 to 12 December 1991, while the longest-serving was Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the father of DY Chandrachud, who held the office for seven years from February 1978 to July 1985.

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Bobins Abraham

Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.