The current CJI, D.Y. Chandrachud, will retire on November 10, 2024, after a two-year tenure. Among the next eight CJIs, only Justice J.B. Pardiwala will have a tenure exceeding two years, holding office for over two years and three months. Justice Surya Kant will have the next-longest tenure, lasting one year and two months.
NEW DELHI: The Chief Justice of India (CJI), often regarded as the “first among equals,” leads the Supreme Court and its judges. As the “Master of the Roster,” the CJI is responsible for forming benches of two or more judges and assigning cases to them. The appointment of the CJI usually follows the seniority principle.
The CJI heads the Supreme Court Collegium, which recommends appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. Additionally, the CJI has broad administrative duties crucial to the Supreme Court’s daily operations.
The current CJI, D.Y. Chandrachud, will retire on November 10, 2024, after a two-year tenure. Among the next eight CJIs, only Justice J.B. Pardiwala will have a tenure exceeding two years, holding office for over two years and three months. Justice Surya Kant will have the next-longest tenure, lasting one year and two months.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna
Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take office as CJI on November 11, 2024, with a term lasting six months until his retirement on May 13, 2025. Elevated to the Supreme Court from the Delhi High Court in January 2019, Justice Khanna currently handles cases related to company law, arbitration, service law, maritime law, civil law, and commercial law. Over his four-and-a-half-year tenure, he has participated in 358 benches and authored more than 90 judgments.
Notably, in 2023, he authored the Constitution Bench judgment in Shilpa Sailesh, where the Supreme Court ruled that it could directly grant divorce based on irretrievable breakdown. He also sat on the Constitution Bench in UOI v. UCC, which dismissed the Union’s curative petition seeking additional compensation for Bhopal gas tragedy victims. In a 5-judge Bench decision, he held that the 2018 Joseph Shine judgment decriminalizing adultery does not apply to members of the armed forces.
In 2022, Justice Khanna, alongside Justice L.N. Rao, ruled that reservations in promotions for SCs and STs must be made on a per-cadre basis rather than for the service as a whole. In 2019, he authored the majority opinion in the significant RTI judgment, emphasizing that judicial independence should not impede transparency and accountability. In 2022, he also ruled that arbitrators cannot set their fees unilaterally.
Justice B.R. Gavai
Justice B.R. Gavai will assume the role of Chief Justice of India on May 14, 2025, serving for just over six months until his retirement on November 23, 2025. Elevated to the Supreme Court from the Bombay High Court in May 2019, he is the first Scheduled Caste judge in the Supreme Court since Justice K.G. Balakrishnan’s retirement in 2010.
Justice Gavai’s areas of expertise include land acquisition, service law, criminal law, and consumer protection. Over his four-year tenure, he has been part of 429 benches and authored 148 judgments.
Earlier this year, he was part of a Constitution Bench led by Justice Abdul Nazeer that upheld the Union’s 2016 Demonetisation Scheme and ruled that public officials are not liable for every statement they make. Recently, Justice Gavai led a three-judge bench that reserved its judgment in a case challenging the repeated extensions of CBI and ED directors’ tenures. He also sat on the nine-judge bench handling the Sabarimala review and Parsi excommunication cases.
Justice Surya Kant
Justice Surya Kant will serve as Chief Justice of India from November 24, 2025, to February 9, 2027, marking a term of over a year. Elevated to the Supreme Court in May 2019, he was chosen over 11 senior judges to ensure representation from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Kant’s current roster includes criminal, family, and election-related cases. In his tenure of over two years, he has been part of 319 benches and authored 55 judgments.
In recent years, he participated in cases upholding the “one-rank-one-pension” scheme and prohibiting arbitrators from unilaterally setting their fees. In 2019, he wrote the unanimous judgment clarifying that “life imprisonment” under the Indian Penal Code is not limited to 20 years. He was also part of the Sabarimala review case alongside Justice Gavai, with the case still pending.
Justice Vikram Nath
Justice Vikram Nath will serve as Chief Justice from February 7, 2027, to September 23, 2027, for a term lasting nearly eight months. Elevated to the Supreme Court in August 2021, he hails from the Allahabad High Court and currently handles cases related to labor law, service law, and civil law. Since his appointment, he has participated in 180 benches and authored 40 judgments.
Justice Nath has been involved in multiple Constitution Bench cases, including the Supreme Court’s ruling on granting divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage and referring Dawoodi Bohra excommunication cases to a nine-judge bench. He was also part of the bench that denied the Union’s curative petition for additional compensation to Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna
Justice B.V. Nagarathna is set to become India’s first woman Chief Justice, though her term will be brief, lasting just 36 days, from September 24, 2027, to October 29, 2027. Elevated from the Karnataka High Court to the Supreme Court in August 2021, she has, over her nearly two-year tenure, authored 53 judgments and participated in 366 benches.
Known for her dissenting views, she issued a separate opinion in the Constitution Bench case challenging the 2016 demonetization and in the Azam Khan freedom of speech case. She also authored the unanimous judgment establishing that public officials could face bribery charges based on circumstantial evidence. Last year, she was part of the bench that declared the reservation for Vanniyars within the Most Backward Classes category unconstitutional.
Justice P.S. Narasimha
Justice P.S. Narasimha will be the third Supreme Court judge to be directly elevated from the Bar to serve as Chief Justice of India, following in the footsteps of CJIs S.M. Sikri and U.U. Lalit. Elevated to the Supreme Court in August 2021, he is set to assume office as CJI on October 30, 2027, for a term of just over six months until May 3, 2028.
Over his two-year tenure, Justice Narasimha has participated in 169 benches and authored 40 judgments. He was a member of the five-judge bench that ruled against the Maharashtra Governor’s decision to call for a floor test for Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and clarified that the Delhi State Government, not the Union, holds control over “services” in the NCT of Delhi.
Additionally, he has been part of two five-judge Constitution Benches that reserved judgments on the “group of companies” doctrine in India and the plea for marriage equality.
Justice J.B. Pardiwala
Justice J.B. Pardiwala will take office as Chief Justice on May 3, 2028, and is expected to serve a tenure of two years and three months until August 11, 2030. Elevated to the Supreme Court from the Gujarat High Court on May 9, 2022, he will be the fourth Parsi judge of the Supreme Court and the only upcoming CJI on this list to serve a tenure exceeding two years.
In his first year, Justice Pardiwala has participated in 95 benches and authored 36 judgments. His benches have delivered significant judgments, including those on the EWS reservation scheme and the uniform marriage age. He is also a part of the five-judge Constitution Bench that has reserved its judgment on the applicability of the “group of companies” doctrine in India.
Justice K.V. Viswanathan
Justice K.V. Viswanathan will be the fourth Supreme Court judge elevated directly from the Bar to become CJI. He is set to assume the role in August 2030 and will serve as CJI for approximately 10 months, until his retirement on May 25, 2031.
Designated as a Senior Advocate in 2008, Justice Viswanathan has represented parties in several high-profile cases, including challenges to WhatsApp’s privacy policy and the plea for marriage equality. Additionally, he has served as the Court’s Amicus Curiae in cases involving the extension of CBI and ED Directors’ tenures and in monitoring judicial appointments in the lower courts.
