UPSC Articles
Next CJI recommended
Part of: GS Prelims and GS – II – Judiciary
In news
- Present Chief Justice of India has recommended Justice N.V. Ramana, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, as the next CJI
Key takeaways
- Justice Ramana is now set to take over as the 48th CJI rom April 24.
- He will be the CJI till August 26, 2022.
Important value additions
Appointment of CJI
- Article 124: Manner of appointing judges to the SC.
- But there is no specific provision in the Constitution for appointing the Chief Justice.
- CJI should be the senior most judge of the SC.
- Law Minister has to seek recommendation of the outgoing CJI for appointment of new CJI at an appropriate time.
- Article 124(2): Consultation with other Judges to be made In case of doubt about the fitness of the senior-most Judge to hold office of CJI.
- Law Minister then puts up recommendation to Prime Minister (PM) who will advise the President on appointment.
- Seniority at the apex court is determined not by age, but by the date a judge was appointed to the SC.
- If two judges are elevated to the Supreme Court on the same day, (1) the one who was sworn in first as a judge would trump another; (2) if both were sworn in as judges on the same day, the one with more years of high court service would ‘win’ in the seniority stakes; (3) an appointment from the bench would ‘trump’ in seniority an appointee from the bar.
- Tenure:
- Once appointed, the CJI remains in office until the age of 65 years.
- Article 124(4): A SC Judge including CJI can be moved only through a process of impeachment by Parliament
