- Chief Justice of India
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Chief Justice of India
Emblem of IndiaIncumbent
S. H. KapadiaResidence New Delhi, India Appointer President of India Inaugural holder H. J. Kania Formation 1950 Website Supreme Court of India The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking judge in the Supreme Court of India, and thus holds the highest judicial position in India. As well as presiding in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also head its administrative functions.
As of 2011[update] the current Chief Justice is S. H. Kapadia, who has held the office since 12th May 2010.
As the chief judge, the Chief Justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law. In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the Chief Justice allocates work to the other judges, who are bound to refer the matter back to him or her in case they require the matter to be looked into by a bench of higher strength.
On the administrative side, the Chief Justice carries out the following functions:
- maintenance of the roster;
- appointment of court officials;
- general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court.
Contents
Appointment of the Chief Justice of India
Article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court. However, no specific provision is made as to the appointment of the Chief Justice; as a result, the latter is appointed in the same manner as for the other judges to the Supreme Court.
Generally speaking, the most senior (i.e. earliest appointed) judge in the Supreme Court is proposed by the Government of India to the President. The President then approves the appointment after consulting with such other judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as he or she thinks necessary. However, this convention has been breached on a number of occasions, most notably during the premiership of Indira Gandhi, when A.N. Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice despite three judges being more senior than him. It was alleged that Ray was appointed because he was considered to be a supporter of Gandhi's government, during a time when her government was becoming increasingly mired in a political and constitutional crisis.
In the aftermanth of the Emergency, the Supreme Court in a series of landmark decisions asserted its position and independence. In one such case the Court declared (in the constitutional bench S.P. Gupta - II case) that the Government of India would be bound to nominate only the most senior judge of the Supreme Court for the position of Chief Justice, thereby removing a potential source for Government influence over the judiciary. Since then, the convention has been followed without exception.
Once appointed, the Chief Justice remains in office until his or her retirement or death, unless removed by impeachment.
Law of India
This article is part of the series:
Judiciary of IndiaAdministrationCivil courts- Supreme Court of India
- Chief Justice of India
- Supreme Court Judges
- High Courts of India
- Chief Justices of High Courts of India
- High Court Judges
- District Court/ Additional District Judge's Court
- Civil Judge (Sr. Division)'s Court
- Civil Judge (Jr. Division)'s Court
Criminal courts- Supreme Court of India
- Chief Justice of India
- Supreme Court Judges
- High Courts of India
- Chief Justices of High Courts of India
- High Court Judges
- Courts of Session/ Court of Additional Sessions Judge
- Courts of Assistant Sessions Judge
- Chief Judicial Magistrate/ Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate / Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
- Judicial Magistrate of First Class/ Metropolitan Magistrate
- Special Judicial Magistrate
- Judicial Magistrate of Second Class
Executive Court- District Magistrate/ Additional District Magistrate
- Sub-Divisional Magistrate
- Assistant Magistrate
- Special Judicial Magistrate
Legal profession- Bar Council
- Attorney General of India
- Solicitor General of India
- Advocates in India
- All India Bar Examination
Legal educationI, <name>, having been appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws.
— Constitution of India, Third Schedule, Part IV
List of Chief Justices of India
Main article: List of Chief Justices of IndiaOther notable judges
Since the appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India has been by convention on basis of seniority, the procedure has been criticized by various jurists and constitutional experts as being averse to talent and non-recognition leading abilities. On this count, various judges of the Supreme Court are named who showed inspiring leadership ability, but because of the seniority rule could not become the Chief Justice of India. Some of these names have been:
- Justice K. K. Mathew for his impeccable legal scholarship and various decisive judgements
- Justice H.R. Khanna who delivered the landmark dissent in Habeas Corpus case.
- Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer known for his human right approach and literary merit in decision-making.
- Justice R.S. Sarkaria known for his immaculate understanding of Administrative law et cetera.
- Justice O.P. Chinnappa Reddy for his landmark decisions on constitutional law.
See also
- Supreme Court of India
- Constitution of India
- Indian Law
External links
Supreme Court High Courts List of High Courts of IndiaDistrict Courts Judicial Magistrate of First Class Judicial Magistrate of First Class Constitution Categories:- Lists of judges
- Supreme Court of India
- Indian judges
- Chief Justices of India
- Lists of Indian people
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