The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint the chief justice, as recommended by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges of the Supreme Court. The chief justice serves until the age of 65 or if removed early by the constitutional process of impeachment. The chief justice ranks sixth in the Order of precedence in India. As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and other administrative functions of the Court.
Surya Kant is the incumbent and 53rd chief justice of India, and was appointed on 24th November 2025.
Appointment
The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint the chief justice, as recommended by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges of the Supreme Court. As an incumbent chief justice approaches retirement, the ministry of law and justice seeks a recommendation for the next chief justice from the incumbent office holder. The recommendation is then presented to the prime minister, who will advice the president in the matter of appointment.
As per convention, the successor suggested by the incumbent chief justice is most often the next senior most judge of the Supreme Court by tenure. However, this convention has been broken twice, when A. N. Ray was appointed in 1973, superseding three senior judges–J. M. Shelat, A. N. Grover and K. S. Hegde, and when M. H. Beg was appointed in 1977, superseding H. R. Khanna.
Tenure and removal
Once appointed, the chief justice remains in office until the age 65, unless removed earlier. As per the Article 124(4) of the Constitution of India, the procedure for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court, is applicable to the chief justice as well. The chief justice can be removed through impeachment by the parliament.