The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is a constitutional office and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary, serving as the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India. The office was formally established on January 26, 1950, with the commencement of the Constitution and the establishment of the Supreme Court, replacing the Federal Court of India. The first CJI was Justice H. J. Kania, who assumed office on that date.
The appointment of the CJI is made by the President of India under Article 124(2) of the Constitution, and the CJI holds office until the age of 65. The CJI is considered the Master of the Roster, an administrative power that grants the sole authority to allocate cases to various benches and constitute benches, including constitutional benches. This power was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in cases like Shanti Bhushan v. Supreme Court of India (2018).
The CJI is intrinsically connected to the Collegium system, which is the mechanism for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary. The Collegium, which the CJI heads, consists of the CJI and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, a structure formalized by the Third Judges Case (1998). A significant recent development was the striking down of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) by the Supreme Court, which reaffirmed the primacy of the Collegium system in judicial appointments. Furthermore, the CJI is empowered to act as the President of India if the offices of both the President and Vice-President are vacant, as per the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969. Removal of the CJI is governed by Article 124(4), requiring an order from the President following a special majority address by Parliament.