After receiving an official communication from the Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday, August 3, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), NV Ramana, is prepared to begin the process of recommending his successor. On April 24, 2021, CJI Ramana succeeded predecessor SA Bobde as chief of the Indian judiciary. He will leave office on August 26 after serving as CJI for more than 16 months.
An officer of the supreme court stated that the letter was received at the CJI’s office on Wednesday, putting a stop to speculative media rumours that an official message had been delivered from the office of Law Minister Kiren Rijiju a few days earlier. “Today (03.08.2022) at 21.30 hrs, the Secretariat of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India has received a communication dated August 03, 2022 from Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice requesting Hon’ble CJI to recommend the name of his successor”, a statement from the CJI’s office said.
As is customary, the CJI suggests the senior-most judge be named as the successor. After CJI Ramana in terms of seniority is Justice Uday Umesh Lalit. The outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) starts the process of naming the successor after receiving a notification from the Law Ministry, in accordance with the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) that controls the procedure of appointment of judges in higher judiciary.
According to the MoP, the senior-most judge on the supreme court is deemed qualified to serve as CJI, and the opinion of the departing head of the judiciary must be obtained “at the proper moment.” The MoP, however, is silent regarding the deadline for starting the process of proposing the name of the new CJI.
Justice Lalit, who was born on November 9, 1957, began practising law in the Bombay High Court in June 1983 and remained there through December 1985. Later, he relocated to Delhi. The Supreme Court named Lalit a senior attorney in April 2004. Lalit presided over the 2G issues trial as the Special Public Prosecutor for the CBI before being recommended for appointment as a Supreme Court judge from the Bar. He was appointed a Supreme Court judge on August 13, 2014, and he would serve as CJI for less than three months before stepping down on November 8 of this year.
