Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi
The present Chief Justice of India will be remembered for bringing the centuries-old Ayodhya land dispute to a close. Justice Gogoi held daily hearings beyond the working hours of the court, thereby ensuring that the hearing was concluded within the stipulated time and verdict delivered before his retirement on November 17.
Justice Gogoi practised mainly at Gauhati high court where he was appointed permanent judge in 2001.
He was appointed chief justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court in 2011 and was elevated as Supreme Court judge in 2012. He was appointed CJI on October 3 last year.
Justice S A Bobde
He will take over as CJI on November 18. Justice Bobde practised law at Bombay high court and Supreme Court for over 20 years before being elevated as additional judge of Bombay HC in March 2000. He became chief justice of Madhya Pradesh high court in October 2012 and was elevated as SC judge in April 2013.
Justice Ashok Bhushan
Justice Bhushan’s expertise in dealing with civil suits got him to the bench. A 1979 law graduate from Allahabad University, he was elected senior vice-president of Allahabad HC Bar Association. He was elevated as permanent judge of that high court in 2001, and was made chief justice of Kerala HC in 2015. He became an SC judge on May 13, 2016 and will retire in July 2021.
Justice S Abdul Nazeer
He practised law in Karnataka high court for over 20 years and was appointed HC judge in 2003. He was elevated to SC on February 17, 2017. He and Justice Bhushan came in after Justices N V Ramana and U U Lalit recused. He is known to be very soft spoken.
Justice D Y Chandrachud
A law graduate from Delhi university and a doctorate in juridical sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School, Justice Chandrachud was appointed additional solicitor general of India in 1998. He was elevated as judge in Bombay HC in 2000 and was appointed chief justice of Allahabad HC in 2013. He became an SC judge in 2016. He was also a visiting professor at University of Mumbai and Oklahoma University School of Law, USA. He is in line to become CJI and will retire in 2024.
