CJI SA Bobde recommends SC Justice NV Ramana's name to be the next Chief Justice of India

Ahead of his retirement in April, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde on Wednesday has recommended the senior-most Supreme Court judge - Justice NV Ramana's name to be the next CJI.

CJI SA Bobde, who is due for retirement on April 23, has reached out to the Ministry of Law and Justice, as per process, and has recommended the name of his colleague Justice Ramana. Ramana's name has been put forth since he is the senior-most judge after SA Bobde. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also sought a name from CJI Bobde for the next Chief Justice of India, who will be the 48th CJI.   

How is the Chief Justice of India (CJI) appointed?

The appointment of Chief Justice of India is a normal procedure that depends on the seniority of the judges in the Supreme Court of India. The retirement age for the Justice of a court is 65 years. Therefore, the retiring judge will pave way for the senior-most judge after him.  

Who is Justice NV Ramana?

The Supreme Court of India's website says the following about Justice NV Ramana:

"N.V. Ramana, B.Sc., B.L., was born in an agricultural family on August 27, 1957 in Ponnavaram Village, Krishna District. He enrolled as an Advocate on February 10, 1983. He has practiced in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Central and Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunals and the Supreme Court of India in Civil, Criminal, Constitutional, Labour, Service and Election matters. He has specialized in Constitutional, Criminal, Service and Inter-State River laws. He has also functioned as Panel Counsel for various Government Organizations. He has functioned as Additional Standing Counsel for Central Government and Standing Counsel for Railways in the Central Administrative Tribunal at Hyderabad. He has also functioned as Additional Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh. He was appointed as a permanent Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on June 27, 2000. He functioned as Acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court from March 10, 2013 to May 20, 2013. He had participated in several National and International Conferences held in India and abroad and submitted papers on various topics of legal importance. Elevated as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court w.e.f. 02.09.2013. Elevated as a Judge, Supreme Court of India w.e.f. 17.02.2014."

CJI Bobde, the 47th Chief Justice of India

CJI Bobde is the 47th Chief Justice of India. He took over as the CJI from Justice Ranjan Gogoi in November 2019. A former Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, he is also serving as the Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University in Mumbai and Nagpur. Bobde's career in the Supreme Court has spanned eight years. During the course of his career, Bobde was a part of landmark judgments, including the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

(Image credit: PTI, Supreme Court of India)