CJI Bobde to retire, Centre asks him to recommend successor

CJI Bobde to retire, Centre asks him to recommend successor

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:20.03.2021 

Setting the process for change of guard at the top of the judiciary in motion, the Union government on Friday wrote to Chief Justice S A Bobde, who retires on April 23, to recommend the name of his successor, a convention that has been followed since the collegium took over the process of selecting judges in the 1990s.

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote to CJI Bobde requesting him to nominate his successor, who would be appointed as the 48th CJI, official sources said. Justice N V Ramana, the senior-most among SC judges, is in line to succeed Justice Bobde as the next CJI.

As per convention, the CJI recommends the name of the senior-most SC judge as successor a month ahead of his retirement. So it is expected that CJI Bobde will recommend Justice Ramana’s name as his successor by March 23, sources said.

The memorandum of procedure for appointment of CJI says “appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office”. It says the law minister, at the appropriate time, would seek the recommendation of the outgoing CJI for the appointment of the next CJI. “Whenever there is any doubt about the fitness of the seniormost judge to hold the office of the Chief Justice of India, consultation with other judges as envisaged in Article 124  (2) of the Constitution would be made for appointment of the next Chief Justice of India,” the MoP provides.

“After receipt of the recommendation of the CJI, the law minister will put up the recommendation to the prime minister who will advise the President in the matter of appointment,” it says. Justice Ramana, who is slated to become the next CJI, will have a tenure of one year, four months and three days.

As per convention, the CJI recommends the name of the senior-most SC judge as successor a month ahead of his retirement, and hence, it is expected that CJI Bobde will recommend Justice Ramana’s name as his successor by March 23, sources said