NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India UU Lalit’s office on Friday received a communication from the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju seeking his recommendation on the appointment of the next top judge.
“As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, today the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor,” the tweet by the Union Ministry of Law & Justice said.
As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, today the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor.
Justice Lalit who took oath as the 49th CJI on August 27 will demit office after a short tenure of almost 74 days on November 8.
According to the convention, the incumbent CJI recommends the senior-most judge as his successor. As per the seniority norm, Justice DY Chandrachud who was appointed as SC judge in 2016 is in the line to be appointed as the 50th CJI.
There’s also a Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) which governs the process related to appointment of judges in the higher judiciary as per which the outgoing CJI initiates the process of naming the successor pursuant to getting a communication from the Law Ministry. The Minister has to seek recommendation of the CJI at the appropriate time but the Memorandum doesn’t elaborate or specify the timeline.
The Memorandum says that “after receipt of the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs will put up the recommendation to the Prime Minister who will advise the President in the matter of appointment”.
Justice Chandrachud, son of the 16th and longest-serving Chief Justice of India, Justice YV Chandrachud if appointed would have a tenure of almost two years.
He was designated as Senior Advocate by the Bombay High Court in 1998 and thereby served as the Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 to 2000. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay HC on March 29, 2000 and took oath as CJI of Allahabad HC on October 31, 2013.
On 29 March 2000, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court. He took oath as the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court on 31 October 2013.