List of Chief Justices of India (1950 to 2026): Complete List and Facts

Since the Supreme Court began functioning on 26 January 1950, India has had 53 Chief Justices. The current Chief Justice of India (CJI) is Justice Surya Kant, the 53rd CJI, who took office on 24 November 2025 and is due to retire on 9 February 2027. This page gives the complete list from H. J. Kania to Surya Kant, the constitutional rules on appointment, and the records that turn up in Prelims and State PSC papers.

Complete List of Chief Justices of India (1950–2026)

Before 1950, the Federal Court of India (1937–1950) had three Chief Justices: Sir Maurice Gwyer, Sir Patrick Spens and H. J. Kania. Kania then became the first CJI of the Supreme Court.

How the Chief Justice of India Is Appointed

Constitutional provisions

• Article 124(1): establishes the Supreme Court, consisting of a Chief Justice of India and other judges.
• Article 124(2): every judge, including the CJI, is appointed by the President after consultation with judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts; for other judges, consultation with the CJI is mandatory.
• Retirement age: 65 years. A judge can resign by writing to the President, or be removed by Parliament under Article 124(4) on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• Article 126: the President can appoint an acting Chief Justice when the office is vacant.
• Article 125 and the Second Schedule: salary and allowances, which cannot be reduced to a judge’s disadvantage during tenure.

The seniority convention

By convention, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed CJI. The outgoing CJI recommends a successor to the Union Law Minister under the Memorandum of Procedure. The convention was broken twice: in 1973 (A. N. Ray superseded three senior judges after the Kesavananda Bharati verdict) and in 1977 (M. H. Beg superseded H. R. Khanna after the ADM Jabalpur case).

The collegium and the Judges cases

Records and Facts for Prelims

• First CJI: H. J. Kania. First CJI to die in office: H. J. Kania (1951).
• Longest tenure: Y. V. Chandrachud, about 7 years 4 months (1978–1985).
• Shortest tenure: K. N. Singh, 17 days (1991).
• Father and son as CJI: Y. V. Chandrachud (16th) and D. Y. Chandrachud (50th).
• Acted as President of India: M. Hidayatullah, in 1969, when both the President and Vice-President’s offices were vacant.
• First Dalit CJI: K. G. Balakrishnan (2007). B. R. Gavai (2025) was the second Dalit and first Buddhist CJI.
• First CJI from Haryana: Surya Kant (2025).
• Woman CJI: none so far. Justice B. V. Nagarathna is in line to become the first woman CJI in 2027 if the seniority convention holds.
• Chief Justices who later became Vice-President or Governor: M. Hidayatullah (Vice-President, 1979–84); P. Sathasivam (Governor of Kerala, 2014–19).

Powers and Role of the CJI

The CJI is the master of the roster: he or she alone constitutes benches and allocates cases, a position the Supreme Court reaffirmed in Shanti Bhushan v. Supreme Court of India (2018). The CJI heads the collegium, administers the oath to the President (under Article 60), can appoint ad hoc judges with the President’s consent (Article 127), and recommends the transfer of High Court judges. For the wider structure of the judiciary, see our Constitution of India notes.