List of chief justices of India

There are a total of 48 chief justices of India that have served since the establishment of the Supreme Court of India in 1950, which superseded the Federal Court of India. The current Incumbent and 48th chief justice of India is Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana, who entered office on 24 April 2021. Based on the convention of seniority, the seven next chief justices can be predicted.[1]

The Supreme Court of India

Precursor

Federal Court of India (1937–50)

The Federal Court of India came into being on 1 October 1937. The seat of the court was the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building in Delhi. It began with a chief justice and two puisne judges. The first chief justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer and the other two judges were Sir S. M. Sulaiman and M. R. Jayakar. It functioned until the establishment of the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 1950.

Acting Chief Justice

No.	Image	Name (birth–death)	Period of office		Length of term	Bar	Appointed by (Governor-General of India)
1		Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer (1878–1952)	1 October 1937	25 April 1943^‡	5 years, 206 days	Inner Temple	The Marquess of Linlithgow
Acting		Sir Srinivas Varadachariar	25 April 1943	7 June 1943	43 days	Madras High Court
2		Sir William Patrick Spens (1885–1973)	7 June 1943	14 August 1947	4 years, 68 days	Inner Temple
3		Sir Harilal Jekisundas Kania (1890–1951)	14 August 1947	26 January 1950	2 years, 165 days	Bombay High Court	The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma

List of Chief Justices of India

Supreme Court of India (1950–present)

Since the birth of the Republic of India on 26 January 1950, 47 judges have served as the chief justice of India.[2] H. J. Kania was the inaugural chief justice. The current incumbent is N. V. Ramana, who took office on 24 April 2021.

No.	Image	Name (birth–death)	Period of office		Length of term	Bar	Appointed by (President of India)
1		Harilal Jekisundas Kania (1890–1951)	26 January 1950	6 November 1951^†	1 year, 284 days	Bombay High Court	Rajendra Prasad
2		Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri (1889–1963)	7 November 1951	3 January 1954	2 years, 57 days	Madras High Court
3		Mehr Chand Mahajan (1889–1967)	4 January 1954	22 December 1954	352 days	Lahore High Court
4		Bijan Kumar Mukherjea (1891–1956)	23 December 1954	31 January 1956^‡	1 year, 39 days	Calcutta High Court
5		Sudhi Ranjan Das (1894–1977)	1 February 1956	30 September 1959	3 years, 241 days	Calcutta High Court
6		Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha (1899–1986)	1 October 1959	31 January 1964	4 years, 122 days	Patna High Court
7		Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar (1901–1981)	1 February 1964	15 March 1966	2 years, 42 days	Bombay High Court	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
8		Amal Kumar Sarkar (1901–2001)	16 March 1966	29 June 1966	105 days	Calcutta High Court
9		Koka Subba Rao (1902–1976)	30 June 1966	11 April 1967^‡	285 days	Madras High Court
10		Kailas Nath Wanchoo (1903–1988)	12 April 1967	24 February 1968	318 days	Allahabad High Court
11		Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)[3]	25 February 1968	16 December 1970	2 years, 294 days	Bombay High Court	Zakir Husain
12		Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah (1906–1991)	17 December 1970	21 January 1971	35 days	Bombay High Court	V. V. Giri
13		Sarv Mittra Sikri (1908–1992)	22 January 1971	25 April 1973	2 years, 93 days	Lahore High Court
14		Ajit Nath Ray (1912–2009)	26 April 1973	27 January 1977	3 years, 276 days	Calcutta High Court
15		Mirza Hameedullah Beg (1913–1988)	29 January 1977	21 February 1978	1 year, 24 days	Allahabad High Court	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
16		Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud (1920–2008)	22 February 1978	11 July 1985	7 years, 139 days	Bombay High Court	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
17		Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (1921–2017)	12 July 1985	20 December 1986	1 year, 161 days	Gujarat High Court	Zail Singh
18		Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (1924–2007)	21 December 1986	18 June 1989^‡	2 years, 209 days	Allahabad High Court	Zail Singh
19		E. S. Venkataramiah (1924–1997)	19 June 1989	17 December 1989	181 days	Karnataka High Court	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
20		Sabyasachi Mukharji (1927–1990)	18 December 1989	25 September 1990^†	281 days	Calcutta High Court
21		Ranganath Misra (1926–2012)	26 September 1990	24 November 1991	1 year, 59 days	Orissa High Court
22		Kamal Narain Singh (1926–)	25 November 1991	12 December 1991	17 days	Allahabad High Court
23		Madhukar Hiralal Kania (1927–2016)	13 December 1991	17 November 1992	340 days	Bombay High Court
24		Lalit Mohan Sharma (1928–2008)	18 November 1992	11 February 1993	85 days	Patna High Court	Shankar Dayal Sharma
25		M. N. Rao Venkatachaliah (1929–)	12 February 1993	24 October 1994	1 year, 254 days	Karnataka High Court
26		Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (1932–)	25 October 1994	24 March 1997	2 years, 150 days	Gujarat High Court
27		Jagdish Sharan Verma (1933–2013)	25 March 1997	17 January 1998	298 days	Madhya Pradesh High Court
28		Madan Mohan Punchhi (1933–2015)	18 January 1998	9 October 1998	264 days	Punjab and Haryana High Court	K. R. Narayanan
29		Adarsh Sein Anand (1936–2017)	10 October 1998	31 October 2001	3 years, 21 days	Jammu and Kashmir High Court
30		Sam Piroj Bharucha (1937–)	1 November 2001	5 May 2002	185 days	Bombay High Court
31		Bhupinder Nath Kirpal (1937–)	6 May 2002	7 November 2002	185 days	Delhi High Court
32		Gopal Ballav Pattanaik (1937–)	8 November 2002	18 December 2002	40 days	Orissa High Court	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
33		Vishweshwar Nath Khare (1939–)	19 December 2002	1 May 2004	1 year, 134 days	Allahabad High Court
34		S. Rajendra Babu (1939–)	2 May 2004	31 May 2004	29 days	Karnataka High Court
35		Ramesh Chandra Lahoti (1940–2022)	1 June 2004	31 October 2005	1 year, 152 days	Madhya Pradesh High Court
36		Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal (1942–2015)	1 November 2005	13 January 2007	1 year, 73 days	Delhi High Court
37		K. G. Balakrishnan (1945–)	14 January 2007	12 May 2010	3 years, 118 days	Kerala High Court
38		Sarosh Homi Kapadia (1947–2016)	12 May 2010	28 September 2012	2 years, 139 days	Bombay High Court	Pratibha Patil
39		Altamas Kabir (1948–2017)	29 September 2012	18 July 2013	292 days	Calcutta High Court	Pranab Mukherjee
40		P. Sathasivam (1949–)	19 July 2013	26 April 2014	281 days	Madras High Court
41		Rajendra Mal Lodha (1949–)	27 April 2014	27 September 2014	153 days	Rajasthan High Court
42		Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu (1950–)	28 September 2014	2 December 2015	1 year, 65 days	Karnataka High Court
43		Tirath Singh Thakur (1952–)	3 December 2015	3 January 2017	1 year, 31 days	Jammu and Kashmir High Court
44		Jagdish Singh Khehar (1952–)	4 January 2017	27 August 2017	235 days	Punjab and Haryana High Court
45		Dipak Misra (1953–)	28 August 2017	2 October 2018	1 year, 35 days	Orissa High Court	Ram Nath Kovind
46		Ranjan Gogoi (1954–)	3 October 2018	17 November 2019	1 year, 45 days	Guwahati High Court
47		Sharad Arvind Bobde (1956–)	18 November 2019[4]	23 April 2021	1 year, 156 days	Bombay High Court
48		Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana (1957–)	24 April 2021	Incumbent	1 year, 2 days	Andhra Pradesh High Court

Notes

^† – Date of Death
^‡ – Date of Resignation

Trivia

Tenure

Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the 16th chief justice, is the longest-serving chief justice, serving over seven years (February 1978 – July 1985).
Kamal Narain Singh, the 22nd chief justice, is the shortest-serving, for 17 days (25 November 1991 – 12 December 1991).

Longevity

A. K. Sarkar was the longest-lived chief justice of India, he died at the age of 100.
Four chief justices, A. N. Ray, P. N. Bhagwati, Kamal Narain Singh, and M. Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah, are nonagenarians.
Sir H. J. Kania is the shortest-lived chief justice, he died in office at the age of 61.

Family relations

Sir H. J. Kania, the 1st chief justice, was the uncle of M. H. Kania, the 23rd chief justice.
Ranganath Misra, the 21st chief justice, was the uncle of Dipak Misra, the 45th chief justice.
Ranjan Gogoi, the 46th chief justice, was the son of K.C. Gogoi, the former chief minister of Assam.

Representation

Mohd. Hidayatullah, the 11th chief justice, being a Muslim, was the first CJI from a minority community.
K. G. Balakrishnan, the 37th chief justice, was the first chief justice from the Dalit community.
J. S. Kehar, the 44th chief justice, was the first CJI from the Sikh community.

Retirement

Normally, a chief justice retires on his birthday.

See also

References

"7 Next CJIs". Supreme Court Observer. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
"List of Retired Hon'ble Chief Justices". Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
Also served as Acting President of India and Vice President of India.
"Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as 47th CJI". Times of India. 18 November 2019.

Chief Justices of India (List)

Judiciary of India
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Appointment of Judges	National Judicial Appointments Commission Collegium System

Chief justices of the territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe
Since 1234 England and Wales Since c.1200 Scotland 1175-1921 Ireland 1708–1757 Menorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Menorca 1798–1802 Menorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State Since 1922 Northern Ireland

Americas

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century
1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua & Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands¹ 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country² 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands³ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada⁴ 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia.
2. Occupied jointly with the United States.
3. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.
4. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
5. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1903–1976 Seychelles 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1953–1963 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century
1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra) 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757-1862 Bengal (to 1862) 1862–1947 Bengal (from 1862) (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) • Bombay • Calcutta • Madras • North-Western Provinces/Allahabad) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 Commonwealth of AustraliaNorthern Territory 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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