Justice Sanjiv Khanna sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India
Context:
Recently, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India, and President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to the Supreme Court.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Indian Polity)
Key Facts About the Chief Justice of India (CJI)
- The Chief Justice of India (CJI) holds a prominent role in India’s judiciary, with specific qualifications, appointment procedures, and powers. Recent legal developments have brought further transparency to the office.
- Qualifications: To be appointed as CJI, a candidate must:
- Be a citizen of India.
- Have either served as a judge in a High Court for at least five years, practiced as an advocate in a High Court for at least ten years, or, in the President’s opinion, been a distinguished jurist.
- Appointment Process
- The CJI and other Supreme Court (SC) judges are appointed by the President under Article 124(2).
- The outgoing CJI recommends the next CJI, whose name is forwarded by the Union Law Minister to the Prime Minister and then to the President.
- As per the Second Judges Case (1993), the senior-most Supreme Court judge is typically appointed as CJI.
- The SC’s collegium, led by the CJI and including four senior-most judges, manages judicial appointments and transfers—a system shaped by SC judgments rather than legislative acts.
- Administrative Role of CJI
- Often referred to as primus inter pares (first among equals), the CJI holds significant administrative authority.
- As Master of the Roster, the CJI allocates cases to specific benches and decides bench sizes, thereby potentially influencing case outcomes. This authority is exercised independently, without a need for collegium consensus or explicit rationale.
- Removal: The CJI can only be removed by the President following a parliamentary address supported by a special majority in both houses, based on “proven misbehaviour” or “incapacity” as per Article 124(4).
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