List of chief justices of India

List of Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India

There are a total of 50 Chief Justices of India's who have served since the establishment of the Supreme Court of India in 1950, which superseded the Federal Court of India. The current and 50th Chief Justice is Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, who entered office on 9 November 2022.^[1]

Precursor

Federal Court of India (1937–50)

The Federal Court of India came into being on 1 October 1937. The seat of the court was the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building in Delhi. It began with a chief justice and two puisne judges. The first chief justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer and the other two judges were Sir Shah Muhammad Sulaiman and Mukund Ramrao Jayakar. It functioned until the establishment of the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 1950.

Acting Chief Justice

No.	Name (birth–death)	Period of office		Length of term	Bar	Appointed by (Governor-General of India)
1	Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer (1878–1952)	1 October 1937	25 April 1943^‡	5 years, 206 days	Inner Temple	The Marquess of Linlithgow
Acting	Sir Srinivas Varadachariar (1881–1970)	25 April 1943	7 June 1943	43 days	Madras
2	Sir William Patrick Spens (1885–1973)	7 June 1943	14 August 1947	4 years, 68 days	Inner Temple
3	Harilal Jekisundas Kania (1890–1951)	14 August 1947	26 January 1950	2 years, 165 days	Bombay	The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma

List of Chief Justices of India

Key

^† Died in office
^‡ Resigned

No.	Name (birth–death)	Date appointed as judge	Start date	End date	Tenure length	Parent High Court	Appointer (President of India)
1	Hiralal Jekisundas Kania (1890–1951)	26 January 1950	26 January 1950	6 November 1951^[†]	1 year, 284 days	Bombay	Rajendra Prasad
2	Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri (1889–1963)	26 January 1950	7 November 1951	3 January 1954	2 years, 57 days	Madras
3	Mehr Chand Mahajan (1889–1967)	26 January 1950	4 January 1954	22 December 1954	352 days	Lahore
4	Bijan Kumar Mukherjea (1891–1956)	26 January 1950	23 December 1954	31 January 1956^[‡]	1 year, 39 days	Calcutta
5	Sudhi Ranjan Das (1894–1977)	26 January 1950	1 February 1956	30 September 1959	3 years, 241 days	Calcutta
6	Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha (1899–1986)	3 December 1954	1 October 1959	31 January 1964	4 years, 122 days	Patna
7	Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar (1901–1981)	17 January 1957	1 February 1964	15 March 1966	2 years, 42 days	Bombay	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
8	Amal Kumar Sarkar (1901–2001)	3 April 1957	16 March 1966	29 June 1966	105 days	Calcutta
9	Koka Subba Rao (1902–1976)	31 January 1958	30 June 1966	11 April 1967^[‡]	285 days	Hyderabad
10	Kailas Nath Wanchoo (1903–1988)	8 November 1958	12 April 1967	24 February 1968	318 days	Allahabad
11	Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)^[2]	1 December 1958	25 February 1968	16 December 1970	2 years, 294 days	Bombay	Zakir Husain
12	Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah (1906–1991)	10 December 1959	17 December 1970	21 January 1971	35 days	Bombay	V. V. Giri
13	Sarv Mittra Sikri (1908–1992)	2 March 1964	22 January 1971	25 April 1973	2 years, 93 days	Bar Council
14	Ajit Nath Ray (1912–2009)	8 January 1969	26 April 1973	28 January 1977	3 years, 276 days	Calcutta
15	Mirza Hameedullah Beg (1913–1988)	12 December 1971	29 January 1977	21 February 1978	1 year, 24 days	Allahabad	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
16	Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud (1920–2008)	28 August 1972	22 February 1978	11 July 1985	7 years, 139 days	Bombay	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
17	Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (1921–2017)	17 July 1973	12 July 1985	20 December 1986	1 year, 161 days	Gujarat	Zail Singh
18	Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (1924–2007)	20 February 1978	21 December 1986	18 June 1989^‡	2 years, 209 days	Allahabad	Zail Singh
19	Engalaguppe Seetharamiah Venkataramiah (1924–1997)	8 March 1979	19 June 1989	17 December 1989	181 days	Karnataka	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
20	Sabyasachi Mukharji (1927–1990)	15 March 1983	18 December 1989	25 September 1990^[†]	281 days	Calcutta
21	Ranganath Misra (1926–2012)	15 March 1983	26 September 1990	24 November 1991	1 year, 59 days	Orissa
22	Kamal Narain Singh (1926–2022)	3 October 1986	25 November 1991	12 December 1991	17 days	Allahabad
23	Madhukar Hiralal Kania (1927–2016)	5 January 1987	13 December 1991	17 November 1992	340 days	Bombay
24	Lalit Mohan Sharma (1928–2008)	10 May 1987	18 November 1992	11 February 1993	85 days	Patna	Shankar Dayal Sharma
25	Manepalli Narayanarao Venkatachaliah (born 1929)	10 May 1987	12 February 1993	24 October 1994	1 year, 254 days	Karnataka
26	Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (1932–2023)	14 December 1988	25 October 1994	24 March 1997	2 years, 150 days	Gujarat
27	Jagdish Sharan Verma (1933–2013)	6 March 1989	25 March 1997	17 January 1998	298 days	Madhya Pradesh
28	Madan Mohan Punchhi (1933–2015)	10 June 1989	18 January 1998	9 October 1998	264 days	Punjab and Haryana	K. R. Narayanan
29	Adarsh Sein Anand (1936–2017)	18 November 1991	10 October 1998	31 October 2001	3 years, 21 days	Jammu and Kashmir
30	Sam Piroj Bharucha (born 1937)	7 January 1992	1 November 2001	5 May 2002	185 days	Bombay
31	Bhupinder Nath Kirpal (born 1937)	9 November 1995	6 May 2002	7 November 2002	185 days	Delhi
32	Gopal Ballav Pattanaik (born 1937)	9 November 1995	8 November 2002	18 December 2002	40 days	Orissa	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
33	Vishweshwar Nath Khare (born 1939)	21 March 1997	19 December 2002	1 May 2004	1 year, 134 days	Allahabad
34	S. Rajendra Babu (born 1939)	25 September 1997	2 May 2004	31 May 2004	29 days	Karnataka
35	Ramesh Chandra Lahoti (1940–2022)	12 September 1998	1 June 2004	31 October 2005	1 year, 152 days	Madhya Pradesh
36	Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal (1942–2015)	28 January 2000	1 November 2005	13 January 2007	1 year, 73 days	Delhi
37	Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (born 1945)	6 August 2000	14 January 2007	11 May 2010	3 years, 117 days	Kerala
38	Sarosh Homi Kapadia (1947–2016)	18 December 2003	12 May 2010	28 September 2012	2 years, 139 days	Bombay	Pratibha Patil
39	Altamas Kabir (1948–2017)	9 September 2005	29 September 2012	18 July 2013	292 days	Calcutta	Pranab Mukherjee
40	Palanisamy Sathasivam (born 1949)	21 August 2007	19 July 2013	26 April 2014	281 days	Madras
41	Rajendra Mal Lodha (born 1949)	17 December 2008	27 April 2014	27 September 2014	153 days	Rajasthan
42	Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu (born 1950)	17 December 2008	28 September 2014	2 December 2015	1 year, 65 days	Karnataka
43	Tirath Singh Thakur (born 1952)	17 November 2009	3 December 2015	3 January 2017	1 year, 31 days	Jammu and Kashmir
44	Jagdish Singh Khehar (born 1952)	13 September 2011	4 January 2017	27 August 2017	235 days	Punjab and Haryana
45	Dipak Misra (born 1953)	10 October 2011	28 August 2017	2 October 2018	1 year, 35 days	Orissa	Ram Nath Kovind
46	Ranjan Gogoi (born 1954)	23 April 2012	3 October 2018	17 November 2019	1 year, 45 days	Gauhati
47	Sharad Arvind Bobde (born 1956)	12 April 2013	18 November 2019^[3]	23 April 2021	1 year, 156 days	Bombay
48	Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana (born 1957)	17 February 2014	24 April 2021	26 August 2022	1 year, 124 days	Andhra Pradesh
49	Uday Umesh Lalit (born 1957)	13 August 2014	27 August 2022	8 November 2022	73 days	Bar Council	Droupadi Murmu
50	Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud (born 1959)	13 May 2016	9 November 2022	Incumbent	1 year, 148 days	Bombay	Droupadi Murmu

Trivia

Tenure

Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the 16th chief justice, is the longest-serving chief justice, serving over seven years (February 1978 – July 1985).
Kamal Narain Singh, the 22nd chief justice, is the shortest-serving, for 17 days (25 November 1991 – 12 December 1991).

Parent High Court

The Bombay High Court has contributed ten chief justices of India, more than any other high court. Additionally, two chief justices, the 13th chief justice Sarv Mittra Sikri and the 49th chief justice Uday Umesh Lalit were elevated directly from the Bar Council of India.

Longevity

Amal Kumar Sarkar was the longest-lived chief justice of India, he died at the age of 100.
Five chief justices, Ajit Nath Ray, Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati, Kamal Narain Singh, Manepalli Narayanarao Venkatachaliah, and Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi are nonagenarians.
Harilal Jekisundas Kania is the shortest-lived chief justice, he died in office at the age of 61.

Family relations

Harilal Jekisundas Kania, the 1st chief justice, was the uncle of Madhukar Hiralal Kania, the 23rd chief justice.
Ranganath Misra, the 21st chief justice, was the uncle of Dipak Misra, the 45th chief justice.
Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the 16th chief justice, was the father of Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, the 50th chief justice.

Representation

Mohammad Hidayatullah, the 11th chief justice, was the first CJI from the Muslim community.
Sam Piroj Bharucha, the 30th Chief Justice, was the first CJI from the Parsi community.
Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan, the 37th chief justice, was the first CJI from the Dalit community.
Rajendra Mal Lodha, the 41st chief justice, was the first from the Jain community.
Jagdish Singh Khehar, the 44th chief justice, was the first CJI from the Sikh community.

Post-retirement

National Human Rights Commission

Ranganath Misra, the 21st chief justice served as the first Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission from 1993 until 1996.
M. N. Venkatachaliah, the 25th chief justice served as the second chairman of the commission from 1996 until 1999.
J. S. Verma, the 27th chief justice served as the third chairman of the commission from 1999 until 2003.
Adarsh Sein Anand, the 29th chief justice served as the fourth chairman of the commission from 2003 until 2006.
S. Rajendra Babu, the 34th chief justice served as the fifth chairman of the commission from 2007 until 2009.
K. G. Balakrishnan, the 37th chief justice served as the sixth chairman of the commission from 2010 until 2015.
H. L. Dattu, the 42nd chief justice served as the seventh chairman of the commission from 2016 until 2020.

Others

Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha, the 6th chief justice served as the President of the Bharat Scouts and Guides from 1965 until 1967.
P. B. Gajendragadkar, the 7th chief justice served as the Chairman of the 6th and 7th Law Commission of India from 1971 until 1974.
Koka Subba Rao, the 9th chief justice unsuccessfully contested the 1967 presidential election against Zakir Husain.
Mohammad Hidayatullah, the 11th chief justice who also served as the Acting President served as the Vice President of India from 1979 until 1984.
Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah, the 12th chief justice headed the Shah Commission in 1977 to inquire into all the excesses committed during the Emergency (1975–1977).
Y. V. Chandrachud, the 16th chief justice headed the Chandrachud Commission in 1997 to examine the charges laid by Manoj Prabhakar on BCCI for match fixing.
P. N. Bhagwati, the 17th chief justice served as the Chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Committee from 2001 until 2003.
Raghunandan Swarup Pathak, the 18th chief justice served as a judge of the International Court of Justice from 1989 until 1991.
Ranganath Misra, the 21st chief justice served as a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Orissa as a member of the Indian National Congress from 1998 until 2004.
M. N. Venkatachaliah, the 25th chief justice served as the Chairman of the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution in 2000.
Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi, the 26th chief justice served as the Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from 2003 until 2010.
Madan Mohan Punchhi, the 28th chief justice served as the Chairman of the Punchhi Commission dealing with matters pertaining to centre-state relations.
Bhupinder Nath Kirpal, the 31st chief justice is currently serving as the Chairman of the National Forest Commission since 2003.
P. Sathasivam, the 40th chief justice served as the Governor of Kerala from 2014 until 2019.
Rajendra Mal Lodha, the 41st chief justice headed the Lodha Committee in 2015 to analyse and recommend implementable actions for improving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Ranjan Gogoi, the 46th chief justice is currently serving as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha since 2020.

Awards

P. B. Gajendragadkar was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1972, Mirza Hameedullah Beg in 1988, M. N. Venkatachaliah in 2004, V. N. Khare in 2006, P. N. Bhagwati in 2007, and Adarsh Sein Anand in 2008.

References

^ "7 Next CJIs". Supreme Court Observer. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ Also served as Acting President of India and Vice President of India.
^ "Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as 47th CJI". The Times of India. 18 November 2019.

Chief Justices of India (list)

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Chief justices of the territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe
Since 1234 England and Wales Since c.1200 Scotland 1175-1921 Ireland 1708–1757 Menorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Menorca 1798–1802 Menorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State Since 1922 Northern Ireland

Americas

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century
1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua & Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands¹ 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country² 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands³ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada⁴ 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia.
2. Occupied jointly with the United States.
3. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.
4. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
5. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1903–1976 Seychelles 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1953–1963 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century
1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra) 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757-1862 Bengal (to 1862) 1862–1947 Bengal (from 1862) (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) • Bombay • Calcutta • Madras • North-Western Provinces/Allahabad) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 Commonwealth of AustraliaNorthern Territory 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).