In rare phenomenon, Supreme Court to see 3 CJIs in 3 months

New Delhi, Apr 25: In a rare phenomenon, the Supreme Court will see three Chief Justices of India (CJI) in 3 months.

The year 2022 will only be the second since the SC's inception in 1950 where it will have three CJIs in three months.

CJI N V Ramanna will retire on August 26 after a tenure of 16 months. He would be succeeded by Justice U U Lalit who will be in office for a little over two months. After Justice Lalit would retire on November 8 after which Justice D Y Chandrachud will take over as the CJI and remain in office for the next two years.

In 1991, the Supreme Court had three different CJIs between November and December. Justice Ranganath Mishra retired as CJI on November 24, following which Justice Kamal Narain Singh took over the top post. Justice Singh holds the record for the shortest tenure as CJI with 17 days only. He was succeeded by Justice M H Kania who ermine in office between December 13 1001 to November 17 1992.

The CJIs are appointed on the basis of seniority and there is no tenure fixed. The judges of the SC retire at the age of 65 as is prescribed by the Indian Constitution.