List Of Chief Justice Of India (2023 Updated)

Last Updated: 27 March 2023

Before we get into the list of Chief Justice Of India, let’s have a quick intro about them.

The Chief Justice of India is the head of the Supreme Court and is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law. Article 145 of the Constitution gives the right to the Chief Justice of India to allocate the respective issues of relevance to the bench of judges.

There are a total of 50 Chief Justices of India that have served since the establishment of the Supreme Court of India in 1950, which superseded the Federal Court of India.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 Incumbent and 50^th Chief Justice of India is Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud, who entered office on 9^th Nov 2022.

Knowing about the Chief Justice of India is imperative for candidates preparing for various Government Exams as questions based on CJI are asked under the Static GK part of the General Awareness Section.

† Represents Date of Death
‡ Represents Date of Resignation

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Federal Court of India

The Federal Court of India came into being on 1^st 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. It functioned until the establishment of the Supreme Court of India on 28^th January 1950.

No.	Name	Term In	Term Out	Bar	Governor-General
1	Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer (1878–1952)	1 Oct 1937	25 Apr 1943^‡	Inner Temple	The Marquess of Linlithgow
	Sir Srinivas Varadachariar (Acting)	25 Apr 1943	7 Jun 1943	Madras High Court	The Marquess of Linlithgow
2	Sir William Patrick Spens (1885–1973)	7 Jun 1943	14 Aug 1947	Inner Temple	The Marquess of Linlithgow
3	Hiralal Jekisundas Kania (1890–1951)	14 Aug 1947	26 Jan 1950	Bombay High Court	The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma

Facts About Chief Justice Of India

The President of India appoints the Chief Justice of India who can hold office up to the age of 65 years.

The Chief Justice of India can be removed only through a process of impeachment by Parliament.

Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the 16^th Chief Justice of India is the longest-serving Chief Justice serving 7 Years, 139 Days (22 Feb 1978 – 11 July 1985).

Kamal Narain Singh, the 22^nd Chief Justice, is the shortest-serving Chief Justice of India for 17 Days (25 Nov 1991 – 12 Dec 1991).

Amal Kumar Sarkar, the 8^th Chief Justice was the longest-lived Chief Justice of India, he died at the age of 100.
Sir H. J. Kania (1^st) is the shortest-lived Chief Justice of India, he died in office at the age of 61.

Sir H. J. Kania, the 1^st Chief Justice, was the uncle of M. H. Kania, the 23^rd Chief Justice.

Ranganath Misra, the 21^st Chief Justice, was the uncle of Dipak Misra, the 45^th Chief Justice.

Ranjan Gogoi, the 46^th Chief Justice, was the son of K.C. Gogoi, the former Chief Minister of Assam.

Mohd. Hidayatullah, the 11^th Chief Justice, being a Muslim, was the first Chief Justice of India from a Minority Community.

K. G. Balakrishnan, the 37^th Chief Justice, was the first Chief Justice from the Dalit Community.

J. S. Kehar, the 44^th Chief Justice, was the first Chief Justice of India from the Sikh Community.

Sam Piroj Bharucha, the 30^th Chief Justice was the first Chief Justice from the Parsi Community.

Usually, It is seen that a Chief Justice retires on his birthday.

Five Chief Justices, A. N. Ray (14^th), P. N. Bhagwati (17^th), Kamal Narain Singh (22^nd), M. Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah (25^th), and A.M. Ahmadi (26^th) are Nonagenarians (Aged between 90 & 99 years old).

The 50^th Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud’s father Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud (16^th CJI) is the longest-serving Chief Justice of India in history (7 Years 139 Days).

Based on the convention of seniority, the seven next Chief Justices can be predicted.

Chief Justice Of India

Since the birth of the Republic of India on 26^th January 1950, 50 judges have served as the Chief Justice of India. H. J. Kania was the inaugural Chief Justice.

No.	Chief Justice	Term In	Term Out	Bar	President
50	Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud (1959–)	09 Nov 2022	10 Nov 2024	Bombay	Droupadi Murmu
49	Uday Umesh Lalit (1957–)	27 Aug 2022	08 Nov 2022	Bar Council of India	Droupadi Murmu
48	Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana (1957–)	24 Apr 2021	26 Aug 2022	Andhra Pradesh HC	Ram Nath Kovind
47	Sharad Arvind Bobde (1956–)	18 Nov 2019	23 Apr 2021	Bombay HC	Ram Nath Kovind
46	Ranjan Gogoi (1954–)	03 Oct 2018	17 Nov 2019	Guwahati HC	Ram Nath Kovind
45	Dipak Misra (1953–)	28 Aug 2017	02 Oct 2018	Orissa HC	Ram Nath Kovind
44	Jagdish Singh Khehar (1952–)	04 Jan 2017	27 Aug 2017	Punjab & Haryana HC	Pranab Mukherjee
43	Tirath Singh Thakur (1952–)	03 Dec 2015	03 Jan 2017	Jammu & Kashmir HC	Pranab Mukherjee
42	Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu (1950–)	28 Sep 2014	02 Dec 2015	Karnataka HC	Pranab Mukherjee
41	Rajendra Mal Lodha (1949–)	27 Apr 2014	27 Sep 2014	Rajasthan HC	Pranab Mukherjee
40	P. Sathasivam (1949–)	19 Jul 2013	26 Apr 2014	Madras HC	Pranab Mukherjee
39	Altamas Kabir (1948–2017)	29 Sep 2012	18 Jul 2013	Calcutta HC	Pranab Mukherjee
38	Sarosh Homi Kapadia (1947–2016)	12 May 2010	28 Sep 2012	Bombay HC	Pratibha Patil
37	K. G. Balakrishnan (1945–)	14 Jan 2007	11 May 2010	Kerala HC	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
36	Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal (1942–2015)	01 Nov 2005	13 Jan 2007	Delhi HC	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
35	Ramesh Chandra Lahoti (1940–2022)	01 Jun 2004	31 Oct 2005	Madhya Pradesh HC	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
34	S. Rajendra Babu (1939–)	02 May 2004	31 May 2004	Karnataka HC	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
33	Vishweshwar Nath Khare (1939–)	19 Dec 2002	01 May 2004	Allahabad HC	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
32	Gopal Ballav Pattanaik (1937–)	08 Nov 2002	18 Dec 2002	Orissa HC	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
31	Bhupinder Nath Kirpal (1937–)	06 May 2002	07 Nov 2002	Delhi HC	K. R. Narayanan
30	Sam Piroj Bharucha (1937–)	01 Nov 2001	05 May 2002	Bombay HC	K. R. Narayanan
29	Adarsh Sein Anand (1936–2017)	10 Oct 1998	31 Oct 2001	Jammu & Kashmir HC	K. R. Narayanan
28	Madan Mohan Punchhi (1933–2015)	18 Jan 1998	09 Oct 1998	Punjab & Haryana HC	K. R. Narayanan
27	Jagdish Sharan Verma (1933–2013)	25 Mar 1997	17 Jan 1998	Madhya Pradesh HC	Shankar Dayal Sharma
26	Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (1932–)	25 Oct 1994	24 Mar 1997	Gujarat HC	Shankar Dayal Sharma
25	M. N. Rao Venkatachaliah (1929–)	12 Feb 1993	24 Oct 1994	Karnataka HC	Shankar Dayal Sharma
24	Lalit Mohan Sharma (1928–2008)	18 Nov 1992	11 Feb 1993	Patna HC	Shankar Dayal Sharma
23	Madhukar Hiralal Kania (1927–2016)	13 Dec 1991	17 Nov 1992	Bombay HC	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
22	Kamal Narain Singh (1926–2022)	25 Nov 1991	12 Dec 1991	Allahabad HC	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
21	Ranganath Misra (1926–2012)	26 Sep 1990	24 Nov 1991	Orissa HC	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
20	Sabyasachi Mukharji (1927–1990)	18 Dec 1989	25 Sep 1990^†	Calcutta HC	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
19	E. S. Venkataramiah (1924–1997)	19 Jun 1989	17 Dec 1989	Karnataka HC	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
18	Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (1924–2007)	21 Dec 1986	18 Jun 1989^‡	Allahabad HC	Zail Singh
17	Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (1921–2017)	12 Jul 1985	20 Dec 1986	Gujarat HC	Zail Singh
16	Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud (1920–2008)	22 Feb 1978	11 Jul 1985	Bombay HC	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
15	Mirza Hameedullah Beg (1913–1988)	29 Jan 1977	21 Feb 1978	Allahabad HC	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
14	Ajit Nath Ray (1912–2009)	26 Apr 1973	28 Jan 1977	Calcutta HC	V. V. Giri
13	Sarv Mittra Sikri (1908–1992)	22 Jan 1971	25 Apr 1973	Bar Council of India	V. V. Giri
12	Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah (1906–1991)	17 Dec 1970	21 Jan 1971	Bombay HC	V. V. Giri
11	Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)	25 Feb 1968	16 Dec 1970	Bombay HC	Zakir Husain
10	Kailas Nath Wanchoo (1903–1988)	12 Apr 1967	24 Feb 1968	Allahabad HC	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
9	Koka Subba Rao (1902–1976)	30 Jun 1966	11 Apr 1967^‡	Madras HC	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
8	Amal Kumar Sarkar (1901–2001)	16 Mar 1966	29 Jun 1966	Calcutta HC	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
7	Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar (1901–1981)	01 Feb 1964	15 Mar 1966	Bombay HC	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
6	Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha (1899–1986)	01 Oct 1959	31 Jan 1964	Patna HC	Rajendra Prasad
5	Sudhi Ranjan Das (1894–1977)	01 Feb 1956	30 Sep 1959	Calcutta HC	Rajendra Prasad
4	Bijan Kumar Mukherjea (1891–1956)	23 Dec 1954	31 Jan 1956^‡	Calcutta HC	Rajendra Prasad
3	Mehr Chand Mahajan (1889–1967)	04 Jan 1954	22 Dec 1954	Lahore HC	Rajendra Prasad
2	Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri (1889–1963)	07 Nov 1951	03 Jan 1954	Madras HC	Rajendra Prasad
1	Hiralal Jekisundas Kania (1890–1951)	26 Jan 1950	06 Nov 1951^†	Bombay HC	Rajendra Prasad

Facts About Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud

Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud (born 11^th Nov 1959) is the 50^th and the current Chief Justice of India whose tenure is expected to be of 2 years.

He is a former ex-officio executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority whilst being J1 (or the senior-most judge after the Chief Justice) of the Supreme Court of India.

Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud is also a former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and a former judge of the Bombay High Court.

D. Y. Chandrachud’s father Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud is the longest-serving Chief Justice of India (7 years, 139 days) in history.

Justice Dhananjaya has been a speaker at conferences organized by bodies of the United Nations including the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation and United Nations Environmental Program, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.

Facts About Uday Umesh Lalit

Uday Umesh Lalit (born 9^th Nov 1957) is the 49^th Chief Justice of India, he served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India previously.

Justice Lalit is one of the six senior counsels directly elevated to the Supreme Court.

In 2011, a Supreme Court bench of Justices G. S. Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly appointed Lalit as the special public prosecutor for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the 2G spectrum cases, stating that “in the interest of a fair prosecution of the case, the appointment of U. U. Lalit is eminently suitable”.