CJI UU Lalit's brief 74 days tenure to end on Nov 8, hunt on for 3rd top judge in a year | Check who's in line of succession

Setting in motion the process of appointing the next head of the Indian judiciary, the government on Friday wrote to Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit to recommend his successor. Justice Lalit will retire as the CJI on November 8. 

"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 Ministry of Law and Justice said in a tweet.

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.

— Ministry of Law and Justice (@MLJ_GoI) October 7, 2022

This is perhaps the first time that the ministry has tweeted about it. According to the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), the CJI names the senior-most judge as his or her successor. The MoP is a document which guides the appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and high court judges. Justice D Y Chandrachud is the senior-most judge after the CJI.

Brief Tenure of just 74 days

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was sworn in as 49th Chief Justice of India. He succeeded Justice NV Ramana, who retired on August 26. Justice Ramana had recommended Justice Lalit as his successor in keeping with convention and norms of seniority. Justice Lalit will have a brief tenure of 74 days as the head of India's judiciary and would demit office on 8 November.

Third head of India's judiciary in a year (2022)

Justice NV Ramana demitted office on 26 August 2022. Justice UU Lalit succeeded him and was sworn-in as top judge on August 27. In the same year in 2022, India will see third head of judiciary on November 9 when a new CJI will be sworn-in.

Who will be the next CJI? 

Going by the established practice and convention, Justice Chandrachud would be the 50th CJI and take oath on November 9. He would have a tenure of two years and demit office on November 10, 2024. While Supreme Court judges retire after attaining the age of 65, high court judges retire at 62 years.