Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai on October 27, 2025, recommended the appointment of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Surya Kant, as his successor and as the 53rd Chief Justice of India.

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai on October 27, 2025, recommended the appointment of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Surya Kant, as his successor and as the 53rd Chief Justice of India.
Chief Justice Bhushan R. Gavai is set to retire on November 23, 2025. After his formal appointment, Justice Kant will head the Indian judiciary until February 9, 2027, which will be a tenure of approximately 14 months.
Justice B.R. Gavai is the second Dalit to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, after Justice K.G. Balakrishnan.
Justice K.G. Balakrishnan was the 37th Chief Justice of India and held the post from January 14, 2007, to May 12, 2010.

Major cases related to Justice Surya Kant

Justice Kant has been part of several landmark Supreme Court verdicts, including the one that abolished Article 370 of the Constitution, which had granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice Kant was also part of the bench that declared the Electoral Bonds Scheme unconstitutional. He was also a member of the benches that heard the Pegasus spyware case and the suspension of the sedition law.

Justice Surya Kant

He was born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar, Haryana. After completing his graduation from his hometown, Justice Kant obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1984 from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.
He began his legal practice at the Hisar District Court and in 1985 moved to Chandigarh to practice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
On July 7, 2000, he became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana, and in March 2001, he was designated as a Senior Advocate. On January 9, 2004, he was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In October 2018, Justice Kant was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. He is scheduled to retire on February 9, 2027.

Appointment of Chief Justices in other democratic countries

United States: The Chief Justice serves for life, meaning they remain in office until they resign, retire, or are impeached.
United Kingdom: The Judicial Appointments Commission appoints the Lord Chief Justice through a special panel of judges from the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.
The Lord Chief Justice serves for life, with a mandatory retirement age of 75 years.

Major provisions related to the Chief Justice:

Appointment: Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution. As a convention, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is designated as the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Procedure for the appointment of the Chief Justice

The Ministry of Law and Justice seeks the recommendation of the current Chief Justice of India for the name of the next Chief Justice of India.
After receiving the recommendation from the Chief Justice, the Ministry of Law forwards the name recommended by the current Chief Justice to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister advises the President of India, and based on this advice, the President appoints the next Chief Justice of India.

The following qualifications are required:

He must be a citizen of India.
He must have been a Judge of a High Court (or of two or more such Courts in succession) for at least five years; or
He must have been an advocate of a High Court (or of two or more such Courts in succession) for at least ten years; or
In the opinion of the President, he must be a distinguished jurist.

Other facts related to the Chief Justice

Under Article 127 of the Constitution, the Chief Justice appoints ad hoc Judges of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court came into existence on January 28, 1950. With the approval of the President, the Chief Justice may transfer the seat of the Supreme Court from Delhi to any other place.
Removal: The Chief Justice can be removed by the President only when both Houses of Parliament pass an address by a special majority (a majority of the total membership and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting).

First Chief Justice of India

Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania was the first Chief Justice of India. He assumed office on January 26, 1950, the day the Constitution of India came into force and the Supreme Court was established.
Longest-serving Chief Justice – The 16th Chief Justice of India, Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud. He served as Chief Justice of India from February 22, 1978, to July 11, 1985.
Shortest tenure – The 22nd Chief Justice of India, Justice Kamal Narain Singh. He served from November 25, 1991, to December 12, 1991 (18 days).
Language used in the Supreme Court – Only English is used in the proceedings of the Supreme Court.