The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the highest-ranking judicial officer in the country and heads the Supreme Court of India. The CJI is responsible for the allocation of cases and the appointment of constitutional benches. Below is the list of all Chief Justices of India since independence (1950–present):
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List of Chief Justices of India (1950–Present)
| No. | Name | Tenure | Key Contributions |
| 1 | H. J. Kania | 26 Jan 1950 – 6 Nov 1951 | First Chief Justice of India; laid the foundation of the Indian judiciary. |
| 2 | M. Patanjali Sastri | 7 Nov 1951 – 3 Jan 1954 | Played a key role in early constitutional cases. |
| 3 | Mehr Chand Mahajan | 4 Jan 1954 – 22 Dec 1954 | Known for his role in the integration of princely states. |
| 4 | Bijan Kumar Mukherjea | 23 Dec 1954 – 31 Jan 1956 | Contributed to the development of constitutional law. |
| 5 | Sudhi Ranjan Das | 1 Feb 1956 – 30 Sep 1959 | Longest-serving CJI at the time; handled significant constitutional cases. |
| 6 | Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha| 1 Oct 1959 – 31 Jan 1964 | Known for his judgments on fundamental rights. |
| 7 | P. B. Gajendragadkar | 1 Feb 1964 – 15 Mar 1966 | Played a key role in labor and constitutional law. |
| 8 | A. K. Sarkar | 16 Mar 1966 – 29 Jun 1966 | Short tenure; focused on judicial administration. |
| 9 | K. Subba Rao | 30 Jun 1966 – 11 Apr 1967 | Known for his progressive judgments on civil liberties. |
| 10 | K. N. Wanchoo | 12 Apr 1967 – 24 Feb 1968 | Handled cases related to land reforms and taxation. |
| 11 | M. Hidayatullah | 25 Feb 1968 – 16 Dec 1970 | First Muslim CJI; later served as Vice President and Acting President of India. |
| 12 | J. C. Shah | 17 Dec 1970 – 21 Jan 1971 | Known for his role in the Bank Nationalization case. |
| 13 | S. M. Sikri | 22 Jan 1971 – 25 Apr 1973 | Presided over the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case (Basic Structure Doctrine). |
| 14 | A. N. Ray | 26 Apr 1973 – 27 Jan 1977 | Controversial appointment during the Emergency; focused on judicial reforms. |
| 15 | M. Hameedullah Beg | 28 Jan 1977 – 21 Feb 1978 | Known for his judgments on civil liberties and human rights. |
| 16 | Y. V. Chandrachud | 22 Feb 1978 – 11 Jul 1985 | Longest-serving CJI; handled landmark cases like Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India.|
| 17 | P. N. Bhagwati | 12 Jul 1985 – 20 Dec 1986 | Pioneer of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India. |
| 18 | R. S. Pathak | 21 Dec 1986 – 18 Jun 1989 | Known for his judgments on constitutional law and international arbitration. |
| 19 | E. S. Venkataramiah | 19 Jun 1989 – 17 Dec 1989 | Short tenure; focused on judicial reforms. |
| 20 | S. Mukharji | 18 Dec 1989 – 25 Sep 1990 | Known for his judgments on environmental law and civil rights. |
| 21 | Ranganath Misra | 26 Sep 1990 – 24 Nov 1991 | First CJI to become the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). |
| 22 | K. N. Singh | 25 Nov 1991 – 12 Dec 1991 | Short tenure; focused on judicial administration. |
| 23 | M. H. Kania | 13 Dec 1991 – 17 Nov 1992 | Handled cases related to constitutional law and civil rights. |
| 24 | L. M. Sharma | 18 Nov 1992 – 11 Feb 1993 | Known for his judgments on criminal law and civil liberties. |
| 25 | M. N. Venkatachaliah | 12 Feb 1993 – 24 Oct 1994 | Played a key role in judicial reforms and constitutional cases. |
| 26 | A. M. Ahmadi | 25 Oct 1994 – 24 Mar 1997 | Known for his judgments on environmental law and human rights. |
| 27 | J. S. Verma | 25 Mar 1997 – 17 Jan 1998 | Known for the Vishaka Guidelines on sexual harassment at the workplace. |
| 28 | M. M. Punchhi | 18 Jan 1998 – 9 Oct 1998 | Focused on judicial administration and constitutional law. |
| 29 | A. S. Anand | 10 Oct 1998 – 31 Oct 2001 | Known for his judgments on human rights and judicial reforms. |
| 30 | S. P. Bharucha | 1 Nov 2001 – 5 May 2002 | Handled cases related to constitutional law and civil rights. |
| 31 | B. N. Kirpal | 6 May 2002 – 7 Nov 2002 | Known for his judgments on environmental law and human rights. |
| 32 | G. B. Pattanaik | 8 Nov 2002 – 18 Dec 2002 | Short tenure; focused on judicial administration. |
| 33 | V. N. Khare | 19 Dec 2002 – 1 May 2004 | Known for his judgments on constitutional law and civil liberties. |
| 34 | S. Rajendra Babu | 2 May 2004 – 31 May 2004 | Short tenure; focused on judicial reforms. |
| 35 | R. C. Lahoti | 1 Jun 2004 – 31 Oct 2005 | Known for his judgments on civil rights and constitutional law. |
| 36 | Y. K. Sabharwal | 1 Nov 2005 – 13 Jan 2007 | Handled cases related to environmental law and judicial reforms. |
| 37 | K. G. Balakrishnan | 14 Jan 2007 – 11 May 2010 | First Dalit CJI; known for his judgments on human rights and social justice. |
| 38 | S. H. Kapadia | 12 May 2010 – 28 Sep 2012 | Known for his judgments on corporate law and environmental issues. |
| 39 | Altamas Kabir | 29 Sep 2012 – 18 Jul 2013 | Focused on judicial reforms and human rights. |
| 40 | P. Sathasivam | 19 Jul 2013 – 26 Apr 2014 | Known for his judgments on criminal law and civil rights. |
| 41 | R. M. Lodha | 27 Apr 2014 – 27 Sep 2014 | Short tenure; focused on judicial transparency and reforms. |
| 42 | H. L. Dattu | 28 Sep 2014 – 2 Dec 2015 | Known for his judgments on human rights and social justice. |
| 43 | T. S. Thakur | 3 Dec 2015 – 3 Jan 2017 | Advocated for judicial reforms and increased judge strength. |
| 44 | J. S. Khehar | 4 Jan 2017 – 27 Aug 2017 | Known for the Triple Talaq judgment and judicial reforms. |
| 45 | Dipak Misra | 28 Aug 2017 – 2 Oct 2018 | Presided over landmark cases like Aadhaar and Section 377 decriminalization. |
| 46 | Ranjan Gogoi | 3 Oct 2018 – 17 Nov 2019 | First CJI from the Northeast; known for the Ayodhya verdict. |
| 47 | S. A. Bobde | 18 Nov 2019 – 23 Apr 2021 | Focused on judicial reforms and technology in the judiciary. |
| 48 | N. V. Ramana | 24 Apr 2021 – 26 Aug 2022 | Advocated for judicial transparency and access to justice. |
| 49 | U. U. Lalit | 27 Aug 2022 – 8 Nov 2022 | Short tenure; focused on judicial efficiency and reforms. |
| 50 | D. Y. Chandrachud | 9 Nov 2022 – Present | Current CJI; known 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: K. N. Singh (25 days in 1991).
– Current CJI: D. Y. Chandrachud (since 9 November 2022).
