Get complete list of all Chief Justices of India [Updated 2022 list], Check the list of Chief Justices of India here!

Safalta Expert Published by: Saloni Bhatia Updated Thu, 20 Oct 2022 10:07 AM IST

Highlights

Looking for details on Chief Justices of India till 2022? Check the complete updated list here at Safalta.com.

Source: Amar Ujala

List of Chief Justices of India: The position of Chief Justice of India is a very important one. The Chief Justice of India is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court which is the highest court in our country's system of integrated judiciary.
India has had 49 Chief Justices till now. Chief Just U. U. Lalit is the current, 49th Chief Justice of India. He will be retiring on 10th November 2022. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud has been named as the 50th Chief Justice of India who will soon take charge of the office. Read this article to know the complete list of Chief Justices of India and other details. If you are preparing for competitive exams and are looking for expert guidance, you can check out our General Knowledge Ebook Free PDF: Download Here


 
Also check:

 

Importance of The Office of CJI

  • The Chief Justice of India is the leader of India's judicial system. The chief justice is the leader of the Supreme Court and is in charge of assigning cases and appointing constitutional benches to hear major legal cases.
  • The Chief Justice of India has the authority under Article 145 of the Constitution to assign relevant subjects to a bench of judges.
  • Candidates preparing for various examinations should familiarise themselves with the List of Chief Justices of India and can also download the PDF for easy preparation.

List of Chief Justices of India

In India, there have been 49 Chief Justices to date. H J Kania was the first Chief Justice of India's Supreme Court. The following is a list of Chief Justices of India:
Chief Justice of India  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 23 April 2021 – 26 August 2022
U. U. Lalit 27 August 2022- 10th November 2022
 
On October 1st, 1937, the Federal Court of India was established. Sir Maurice Gwyer served as India's first Chief Justice (1 October 1937 to 25 April 1943). The Indian Federal Court operated from 1937 to 1950. The first Indian Chief Justice of India was Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania.

The longest serving Chief Justice was Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, who held the position from February 1978 to July 1985. Kamal Narain Singh held the position for the shortest period from November 1991 to December 1991, only serving for 17 days.


Attempt Free Mock Tests- Click Here

CJI – Important Points

  • The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President of India, and the CJI can serve until he or she reaches the age of 65. In addition, the CJI can only be removed by Parliament through an impeachment process.
  • The President of India accepts the Chief Justice of India's resignation. The Chief Justice of India is sworn in by the President of India.
  • The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is paid a monthly salary of Rs.280,000 and various perks. The Salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is governed by Article 125 of the Constitution.
  • Mr. Sir Maurice Gwyer was India's first Chief Justice (before independence). He assumed command on October 1, 1937, and served until April 25, 1943. In the pre-independence era, Mr. M Gwyer was the Chief Justice of India. The first (Indian) Chief Justice of India was Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania.
  • From November 21, 1991, until December 12, 1991, Kamal Narain Singh served as the Supreme Court's Chief Justice for only 17 days.
  • Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, who served for 2696 days, is India's longest-serving Chief Justice.
  • Fatimah Beevi was India's first female judge and the first woman Supreme Court Judge. She was born in Kerala and served as the Supreme Court of India from October 6, 1989, to April 29, 1992.
  • There are 29 SC judges in India right now (April 2021), including the Chief Justice of India. (With CJI, the total sanctioned strength is 34.)
 

If you're preparing for government job exams, then these informational articles will definitely help you

Important articles in the Indian constitution

Indian states chief ministers and governors

Important dates and days in the year

UPSC full form

Visual vocabulary term

List Of Padma Awards 2022: Know The Most Recent Recipients And Other Details Here

Who is the current Chief Justice of India?

Justice U U Lalit is the current Chief Justice of India.

Who was the first Chief Justice of India after Indepdence?

H.J Kania was the first Chief Justice of India after Independence.

Who is India's longest serving Chief Justice?

Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, who served for 2696 days, is India's longest-serving Chief Justice.

Who does a Chief Justice address his resignation to?

Chief Justice can resign by writing to the President.

Who was India's first Chief Justice before Independence?

Mr. Sir Maurice Gwyer was India's first Chief Justice before Independence.