Justice Gogoi likely to be next CJI: Law ministry seeks recommendation

New Delhi, Aug 29: Who will be the next Chief Justice of India. Justice Ranjan Gogoi who hails from Assam could well be in line to succeed Justice Dipak Misra as the next CJI.

The Union Law Ministry has sent a communication to Justice Misra due to retire on October 2 2018 to recommend the name of his successor, so that the process of appointing the next CJI could commence.

In normal course, the CJI sends the recommendation a month before his retirement.

Justice Misra, according to sources would send the recommendation next week. There is plenty of speculation whether Justice Gogoi who was part of the press conference along with Justices J Chelameshwar (retired), Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph would be made the CJI.

Under the Memorandum of Procedure, it is customary and also a convention that the outgoing CJI names his successor. It is only twice in the history of the judicury that attempts to bypass the convention or supersede judges have been made.

The first "supersession" was in 1973 involving three judges. The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi appointed Justice A N Ray as the CJI overlooking the three senior most judges of the Supreme Court, Justices J M Shelat, A N Grover and S Hegde.

The second time was during the emergency, when Indira Gandhi disapproved the dissenting judgment of Justice H R Khanna and Justice M H Beg was appointed as the CJI.