The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the highest-ranking judicial officer within the nation and heads the Supreme Court docket of India. The CJI is answerable for the allocation of circumstances and the appointment of constitutional benches. Under is the checklist of all Chief Justices of India since independence (1950–current):
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Record of Chief Justices of India (1950–Current)
| No. | Title | Tenure | Key Contributions |
| 1 | H. J. Kania | 26 Jan 1950 – 6 Nov 1951 | First Chief Justice of India; laid the inspiration of the Indian judiciary. |
| 2 | M. Patanjali Sastri | 7 Nov 1951 – 3 Jan 1954 | Performed a key position in early constitutional circumstances. |
| 3 | Mehr Chand Mahajan | 4 Jan 1954 – 22 Dec 1954 | Identified for his position within the integration of princely states. |
| 4 | Bijan Kumar Mukherjea | 23 Dec 1954 – 31 Jan 1956 | Contributed to the event of constitutional legislation. |
| 5 | Sudhi Ranjan Das | 1 Feb 1956 – 30 Sep 1959 | Longest-serving CJI on the time; dealt with vital constitutional circumstances. |
| 6 | Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha| 1 Oct 1959 – 31 Jan 1964 | Identified for his judgments on elementary rights. |
| 7 | P. B. Gajendragadkar | 1 Feb 1964 – 15 Mar 1966 | Performed a key position in labor and constitutional legislation. |
| 8 | A. Okay. Sarkar | 16 Mar 1966 – 29 Jun 1966 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial administration. |
| 9 | Okay. Subba Rao | 30 Jun 1966 – 11 Apr 1967 | Identified for his progressive judgments on civil liberties. |
| 10 | Okay. N. Wanchoo | 12 Apr 1967 – 24 Feb 1968 | Dealt with circumstances associated to land reforms and taxation. |
| 11 | M. Hidayatullah | 25 Feb 1968 – 16 Dec 1970 | First Muslim CJI; later served as Vice President and Appearing President of India. |
| 12 | J. C. Shah | 17 Dec 1970 – 21 Jan 1971 | Identified for his position within the Financial institution Nationalization case. |
| 13 | S. M. Sikri | 22 Jan 1971 – 25 Apr 1973 | Presided over the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case (Fundamental Construction Doctrine). |
| 14 | A. N. Ray | 26 Apr 1973 – 27 Jan 1977 | Controversial appointment throughout the Emergency; centered on judicial reforms. |
| 15 | M. Hameedullah Beg | 28 Jan 1977 – 21 Feb 1978 | Identified for his judgments on civil liberties and human rights. |
| 16 | Y. V. Chandrachud | 22 Feb 1978 – 11 Jul 1985 | Longest-serving CJI; dealt with landmark circumstances like Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India.|
| 17 | P. N. Bhagwati | 12 Jul 1985 – 20 Dec 1986 | Pioneer of Public Curiosity Litigation (PIL) in India. |
| 18 | R. S. Pathak | 21 Dec 1986 – 18 Jun 1989 | Identified for his judgments on constitutional legislation and worldwide arbitration. |
| 19 | E. S. Venkataramiah | 19 Jun 1989 – 17 Dec 1989 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial reforms. |
| 20 | S. Mukharji | 18 Dec 1989 – 25 Sep 1990 | Identified for his judgments on environmental legislation and civil rights. |
| 21 | Ranganath Misra | 26 Sep 1990 – 24 Nov 1991 | First CJI to grow to be the Chairman of the Nationwide Human Rights Fee (NHRC). |
| 22 | Okay. N. Singh | 25 Nov 1991 – 12 Dec 1991 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial administration. |
| 23 | M. H. Kania | 13 Dec 1991 – 17 Nov 1992 | Dealt with circumstances associated to constitutional legislation and civil rights. |
| 24 | L. M. Sharma | 18 Nov 1992 – 11 Feb 1993 | Identified for his judgments on prison legislation and civil liberties. |
| 25 | M. N. Venkatachaliah | 12 Feb 1993 – 24 Oct 1994 | Performed a key position in judicial reforms and constitutional circumstances. |
| 26 | A. M. Ahmadi | 25 Oct 1994 – 24 Mar 1997 | Identified for his judgments on environmental legislation and human rights. |
| 27 | J. S. Verma | 25 Mar 1997 – 17 Jan 1998 | Identified for the Vishaka Tips on sexual harassment on the office. |
| 28 | M. M. Punchhi | 18 Jan 1998 – 9 Oct 1998 | Centered on judicial administration and constitutional legislation. |
| 29 | A. S. Anand | 10 Oct 1998 – 31 Oct 2001 | Identified for his judgments on human rights and judicial reforms. |
| 30 | S. P. Bharucha | 1 Nov 2001 – 5 Might 2002 | Dealt with circumstances associated to constitutional legislation and civil rights. |
| 31 | B. N. Kirpal | 6 Might 2002 – 7 Nov 2002 | Identified for his judgments on environmental legislation and human rights. |
| 32 | G. B. Pattanaik | 8 Nov 2002 – 18 Dec 2002 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial administration. |
| 33 | V. N. Khare | 19 Dec 2002 – 1 Might 2004 | Identified for his judgments on constitutional legislation and civil liberties. |
| 34 | S. Rajendra Babu | 2 Might 2004 – 31 Might 2004 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial reforms. |
| 35 | R. C. Lahoti | 1 Jun 2004 – 31 Oct 2005 | Identified for his judgments on civil rights and constitutional legislation. |
| 36 | Y. Okay. Sabharwal | 1 Nov 2005 – 13 Jan 2007 | Dealt with circumstances associated to environmental legislation and judicial reforms. |
| 37 | Okay. G. Balakrishnan | 14 Jan 2007 – 11 Might 2010 | First Dalit CJI; identified for his judgments on human rights and social justice. |
| 38 | S. H. Kapadia | 12 Might 2010 – 28 Sep 2012 | Identified for his judgments on company legislation and environmental points. |
| 39 | Altamas Kabir | 29 Sep 2012 – 18 Jul 2013 | Centered on judicial reforms and human rights. |
| 40 | P. Sathasivam | 19 Jul 2013 – 26 Apr 2014 | Identified for his judgments on prison legislation and civil rights. |
| 41 | R. M. Lodha | 27 Apr 2014 – 27 Sep 2014 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial transparency and reforms. |
| 42 | H. L. Dattu | 28 Sep 2014 – 2 Dec 2015 | Identified for his judgments on human rights and social justice. |
| 43 | T. S. Thakur | 3 Dec 2015 – 3 Jan 2017 | Advocated for judicial reforms and elevated decide energy. |
| 44 | J. S. Khehar | 4 Jan 2017 – 27 Aug 2017 | Identified for the Triple Talaq judgment and judicial reforms. |
| 45 | Dipak Misra | 28 Aug 2017 – 2 Oct 2018 | Presided over landmark circumstances like Aadhaar and Part 377 decriminalization. |
| 46 | Ranjan Gogoi | 3 Oct 2018 – 17 Nov 2019 | First CJI from the Northeast; identified for the Ayodhya verdict. |
| 47 | S. A. Bobde | 18 Nov 2019 – 23 Apr 2021 | Centered on judicial reforms and know-how within the judiciary. |
| 48 | N. V. Ramana | 24 Apr 2021 – 26 Aug 2022 | Advocated for judicial transparency and entry to justice. |
| 49 | U. U. Lalit | 27 Aug 2022 – 8 Nov 2022 | Brief tenure; centered on judicial effectivity and reforms. |
| 50 | D. Y. Chandrachud | 9 Nov 2022 – Current | Present CJI; identified for progressive judgments and judicial reforms. |
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Key Highlights
– First CJI: H. J. Kania (1950–1951).
– Longest Tenure: Y. V. Chandrachud (1978–1985).
– Shortest Tenure: Okay. N. Singh (25 days in 1991).
– Present CJI: D. Y. Chandrachud (since 9 November 2022).
