List of all Chief Justices of India (1886 - 2026 )

The Chief Justice of India is the head of the judiciary system in India and is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitution

List of Chief Justices of India 

The List of Chief Justices of India (CJI) represents the chronological record of individuals who have served as the head of the Supreme Court of India since its establishment on 26 January 1950. The first Chief Justice of India was H. J. Kania, who laid the foundation of the Indian judiciary in the post-independence era.

The appointment of the Chief Justice of India is based on the seniority principle, where the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed by the President of India. The CJI plays a crucial role in the administration of justice, allocation of cases, and upholding the Constitution.

Over the years, several distinguished judges have served as CJI, including Y. V. Chandrachud, who had the longest tenure, and P. N. Bhagwati, known for advancing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India. In recent times, Chief Justices have contributed significantly to areas such as constitutional law, human rights, and judicial reforms.

The list of CJIs reflects the evolution of the Indian judiciary and its growing role in a democratic system. Each Chief Justice has contributed uniquely to strengthening the rule of law, ensuring justice, and maintaining the independence of the judiciary in India.

To date, there have been 50 Chief Justices in India. The First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India was H.J. Kania. The list of Chief Justices of India is provided below:

List of all Chief Justices of India before Independence

Before India's independence in 1947, the highest judicial authority was the Federal Court of India, established in 1937 under the Government of India Act, 1935. The Chief Justice of the Federal Court held the highest judicial position. Here’s the list of Chief Justices of India before independence:

S.No	Name	Court / Position	Tenure
1	Maurice Gwyer	Chief Justice, Federal Court of India	1937 – 1943
2	Srinivasa Varadachariar	Acting Chief Justice	1943
3	Muhammad Munir	Acting Chief Justice	Brief Period
4	Patrick Spens	Chief Justice, Federal Court of India	1943 – 1947
5	H. J. Kania	Chief Justice, Federal Court of India	1948 – 1950
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Final Appellate Authority)
6	Lord Halsbury	Lord Chancellor (Privy Council)	1895 – 1905
7	Lord Loreburn	Lord Chancellor	1905 – 1912
8	Lord Haldane	Lord Chancellor	1912 – 1915
9	Lord Finlay	Lord Chancellor	1916 – 1919
10	Lord Birkenhead	Lord Chancellor	1919 – 1922
11	Lord Cave	Lord Chancellor	1922 – 1928
12	Lord Sankey	Lord Chancellor	1929 – 1935
13	Lord Maugham	Lord Chancellor	1938 – 1939
14	Lord Simon	Lord Chancellor	1940 – 1945
15	Lord Jowitt	Lord Chancellor	1945 – 1951
Chief Justices of Major High Courts (Colonial Era)
16	Sir Elijah Impey	Chief Justice, Calcutta Supreme Court	1774 – 1783
17	Sir Robert Chambers	Chief Justice, Calcutta	1783 – 1798
18	Sir Edward Hyde East	Chief Justice, Calcutta	1813 – 1822
19	Sir Barnes Peacock	Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court	1862 – 1870
20	Sir Lawrence Jenkins	Chief Justice, Bombay High Court	1898 – 1908
21	Sir John Edge	Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court	1886 – 1898

These Chief Justices presided over the Federal Court, which later transitioned into the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 1950, following the adoption of the Indian Constitution.

List of all Chief Justices of India after Independence

Here’s the list of all Chief Justices of India with their tenure:

S.No	Chief Justice of India	Tenure
1	H.J. Kania	26 January 1950 – 6 November 1951
2	M. Patanjali Sastri	7 November 1951 – 3 January 1954
3	Mehr Chand Mahajan	4 January 1954 – 22 December 1954
4	Bijan Kumar Mukherjea	23 December 1954 – 31 January 1956
5	Sudhi Ranjan Das	1 February 1956 – 30 September 1959
6	Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha	1 October 1959 – 31 January 1964
7	P. B. Gajendragadkar	1 February 1964 – 15 March 1966
8	Amal Kumar Sarkar	16 March 1966 – 29 June 1966
9	Koka Subba Rao	30 June 1966 – 11 April 1967
10	Kailas Nath Wanchoo	12 April 1967 – 24 February 1968
11	Mohammad Hidayatullah	25 February 1968 – 16 December 1970
12	Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah	17 December 1970 – 21 January 1971
13	Sarv Mittra Sikri	22 January 1971 – 25 April 1973
14	A. N. Ray	26 April 1973 – 27 January 1977
15	Mirza Hameedullah Beg	29 January 1977 – 21 February 1978
16	Y. V. Chandrachud	22 February 1978 – 11 July 1985
17	P. N. Bhagwati	12 July 1985 – 20 December 1986
18	Raghunandan Swarup Pathak	21 December 1986 – 18 June 1989
19	E. S. Venkataramiah	19 June 1989 – 17 December 1989
20	Sabyasachi Mukharji	18 December 1989 – 25 September 1990
21	Ranganath Misra	26 September 1990 – 24 November 1991
22	Kamal Narain Singh	25 November 1991 – 12 December 1991
23	Madhukar Hiralal Kania	13 December 1991 – 17 November 1992
24	Lalit Mohan Sharma	18 November 1992 – 11 February 1993
25	M. N. Venkatachaliah	12 February 1993 – 24 October 1994
26	A. M. Ahmadi	25 October 1994 – 24 March 1997
27	J. S. Verma	25 March 1997 – 17 January 1998
28	M. M. Punchhi	18 January 1998 – 9 October 1998
29	Adarsh Sein Anand	10 October 1998 – 31 October 2001
30	Sam Piroj Bharucha	1 November 2001 – 5 May 2002
31	Bhupinder Nath Kirpal	6 May 2002 – 7 November 2002
32	Gopal Ballav Pattanaik	8 November 2002 – 18 December 2002
33	V. N. Khare	19 December 2002 – 1 May 2004
34	S. Rajendra Babu	2 May 2004 – 31 May 2004
35	Ramesh Chandra Lahoti	1 June 2004 – 31 October 2005
36	Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal	1 November 2005 – 13 January 2007
37	K. G. Balakrishnan	14 January 2007 – 12 May 2010
38	S. H. Kapadia	12 May 2010 – 28 September 2012
39	Altamas Kabir	29 September 2012 – 18 July 2013
40	P. Sathasivam	19 July 2013 – 26 April 2014
41	Rajendra Mal Lodha	27 April 2014 – 27 September 2014
42	H. L. Dattu	28 September 2014 – 2 December 2015
43	T. S. Thakur	3 December 2015 – 3 January 2017
44	Jagdish Singh Khehar	4 January 2017 – 27 August 2017
45	Dipak Misra	28 August 2017 – 2 October 2018
46	Ranjan Gogoi	3 October 2018 – 17 November 2019
47	Sharad Arvind Bobde	18 November 2019 – 23 April 2021
48	N. V. Ramana	24 April 2021 – 26 August 2022
49	U. U. Lalit	27 August 2022 – 8 November 2022
50	D. Y. Chandrachud	9 November 2022 – 12 November 2024
51	Justice Sanjiv Khanna	13 November 2024 – Till Now

Essential Points About Chief Justice of India

• The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President and can hold the office up to the age of 65 years. 
• The Chief Justice submits his resignation to the President. 
• Article 125 of the Constitution of India governs the salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who receives ₹280,000/- monthly as salary, along with other allowances.
• The first Chief Justice of India before independence was Sir Maurice Gwyer, and Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania became the first Indian Chief Justice after Independence. 
• Kamal Narain Singh holds the record for the shortest-serving Chief Justice, with a tenure of just 17 days, while Justice Y. V. Chandrachud is the longest-serving Chief Justice in India, serving for 2696 days. 
• Fatimah Beevi made history as the first woman judge and the first woman Supreme Court Judge in India.

About the 50th Chief Justice of India

Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud is a former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and a former judge of the Bombay High Court. His father, Y.V. Chandrachud, holds the distinction of being the longest-serving Chief Justice of India, serving from February 22, 1978, to July 11, 1985.

Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has delivered landmark verdicts, including the Ayodhya land dispute judgment and the K.S. Puttaswamy judgment, which upheld the right to privacy as a Fundamental Right. He was also part of benches that delivered judgments on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (decriminalizing same-sex relations), the validity of the Aadhaar scheme, and the Sabarimala issue.

About the 51st Chief Justice of India

Justice Sanjiv Khanna assumed the office of the 51st Chief Justice of India on November 13, 2024, succeeding Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. Appointed by President Droupadi Murmu, his tenure is set to continue until May 2025. Known for his integrity and legal acumen, Justice Khanna has a distinguished judicial career marked by significant contributions to constitutional and civil law.

Early Life and Legal Career

Justice Khanna was born into a family with a legacy in the Indian judiciary. His uncle, Justice H.R. Khanna, is remembered for his courageous dissent in the ADM Jabalpur case during the Emergency period, where he upheld individual rights against authoritarianism. Justice Sanjiv Khanna graduated with a law degree from Delhi University and began practicing law in 1983.

Elevation and Supreme Court Tenure

Justice Khanna was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and later elevated to the Supreme Court of India in 2019. His appointment as Chief Justice followed years of impactful judgments and a reputation for fairness. Despite a somewhat controversial bypass of seniority during his Supreme Court elevation, Justice Khanna emerged as a respected figure in the legal fraternity.

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