Centre asks CJI Gavai to name his successor

THE INCUMBENT CJI FORMALLY RECOMMENDS THE SENIOR-MOST JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT, ‘CONSIDERED FIT’TO HOLD THE OFFICE’

- Utkarsh Anand

The Union law ministry on Friday requested Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai to recommend the name of his successor, initiating the formal process for appointing the next head of the Indian judiciary ahead of Justice Gavai’s retirement on November 23.

Justice Surya Kant, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, is in line to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice Gavai. He is likely to assume office on November 24 and will have a tenure of about 14 months, retiring on February 9, 2027.

As a matter of longstanding convention, the law ministry writes to the CJI nearly a month before his retirement, seeking the name of his successor. The incumbent CJI then formally recommends the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, “considered fit to hold the office”, roughly 30 days before demitting office.

This practice originates from the Second Judges Case (1993), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the appointment to the office of CJI should be of the most senior judge of the court “considered fit to hold the office.” The subsequent Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointments to the higher judiciary incorporated this convention.