GOVERNMENT BEGINS PROCESS TO APPOINT NEXT CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

GOVERNMENT BEGINS PROCESS TO APPOINT NEXT CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA**

The Union Government has initiated the formal process of appointing the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), requesting the incumbent CJI, Justice B.R. Gavai, to recommend his successor ahead of his retirement on 23 November 2025. The process follows the long-standing convention and the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), under which the senior-most Supreme Court judge considered “fit to hold office” is recommended for elevation. The appointment procedure involves five stages: initiation by the Law Ministry, recommendation by the outgoing CJI, review by the Supreme Court Collegium, presidential approval under Article 124(2), and official notification specifying the date of assumption of office.

Justice Surya Kant, currently the senior-most judge after CJI Gavai, is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, with a tenure from 24 November 2025 to 9 February 2027. His judicial career spans four decades, beginning with his advocacy in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, followed by his appointment as Advocate General of Haryana (2000), elevation as High Court Judge (2004), Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court (2018), and finally his elevation to the Supreme Court in 2019. He has played pivotal roles in legal-aid institutions, serving as Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee and Executive Chairman of NALSA.