| Chief Justice of India | |
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| Bhārat kē Mukhya Nyāyādhīśa | |
 Insignia of the SCI | |
 Supreme court Flag | |
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| Supreme Court | |
| Type | Chief Justice |
| Status | Presiding Judge of Supreme Court of India |
| Abbreviation | CJI |
| Residence | 5, Krishna Menon Marg, Sunehri Bagh, New Delhi, India[1] |
| Seat | Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, India |
| Nominator | Outgoing Chief Justice of India, generally on the basis of Seniority |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | Until the age of 65[2] |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of India (under Article 124) |
| Formation | 26 January 1950 |
| First holder | H. J. Kania (1950–1951)[3] |
| Succession | 6th (on the Indian order of precedence) |
| Salary | ₹280,000 (US$3,400) (per month)[4] |
| Website | sci.gov.in |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Judiciary of India |
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| Law of India |
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) (ISO: Bhārat kē Mukhya Nyāyādhīśa) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges, (as envisaged in Article 124 (2) of the Constitution)[5] the next Chief Justice, who will serve until they reach the age of 65 or are removed by the constitutional process of impeachment.
As per convention, the successor suggested by the incumbent chief justice is most often the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court. However, this convention has been broken twice. In 1973, Justice A. N. Ray was appointed, superseding three senior judges, and in 1977 when Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg was appointed as Chief Justice, superseding Justice Hans Raj Khanna.
As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches that deal with important matters of law.[6] In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the chief justice has to allocate work to the other judges who are bound to refer the matter back to them (for re-allocation) in any case where they require it to be looked into by another group of experienced judges.
On the administrative side, the Chief Justice carries out functions of maintenance of the roster, appointment of court officials, and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice is de facto Chancellor of National Law School of India University.
The 51st and present Chief Justice is Sanjiv Khanna. He was sworn in as Chief Justice on 11 November 2024.[7]
- ^ "Delhi confidential: Mutual Praise". 24 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ "Supreme Court of India - CJI & Sitting Judges". Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ "Supreme Court of India Retired Hon'ble the Chief Justices' of India". Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ "Supreme Court, High Court judges get nearly 200% salary hike". Hindustan Times. 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Memorandum of procedure of appointment of Supreme Court Judges | India". Archived from the original on 9 March 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ Saxena, Namit (23 December 2016). "New Captain Of The Ship, Change In Sailing Rules Soon?". Live Law. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ Justice Sanjiv Khanna commences judicial proceedings as 51st CJI, thanks lawyers