Justice N.V. Ramana – the next “Chief Justice of India(CJI)”

What is the News?

The President of India appointed Justice N.V. Ramana as the next Chief Justice of India.

Appointment of CJI and other Judges:

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of India under Article 124(2) of the Constitution.

Constitution on appointment of CJI:

• The Constitution of India does not have any specific provision for criteria and procedure for appointing the CJI.
• Article 124(1) and the 2008 amendment of the Indian Constitution states that there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and no. of judges as prescribed by Parliament.
• Initially, the prescribed no. of judges was 7 excluding CJI. Now the no. is 34 judges including the CJI.
• The closest mention is in Article 126. It deals with the appointment of an acting CJI.

Convention for appointment of the CJI

• When the incumbent CJI retires (all Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65), the senior-most judge in the SC becomes the CJI.
• Seniority is not defined by age but by the number of years an individual has served as a judge of the apex court.

Read more – Appointment of CJI

Salary and Allowance of CJI and other Judges:

• The Constitution of India given the power to the Parliament to decide the salaries, allowances, privileges, leave and pension of the judges. This includes both the Judges and the CJI of the Supreme Court.
• However, his terms and conditions cannot alter to their disadvantage after they get appointed. It can be altered only when there is a financial emergency.

Administrative Powers of CJI:

• The Chief Justice of India is the “first among equals” in the Supreme Court. He has the “exclusive prerogative” to allocate cases and constitute Benches. Hence, he is known as the master of the roster.
• The Chief Justice decides the number of judges that will hear a case. Thus, he can influence the judgement by simply choosing judges favouring a particular outcome.
  • The CJI can exercise such administrative powers without collegium consensus. Further, he/she cannot state any reasons for such change.
• Appointment of court officials and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court.

Click Here to Read about Procedure for Removal of CJI and other Judges

 Source: The Hindu