| Chief Justice of India |
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Emblem of India |
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Incumbent
S. H. Kapadia |
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| Residence | 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:
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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.
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Law of India Administration
Civil courts
Criminal courts
Executive Court
Legal profession
Legal education
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I, <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
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:
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