SC Collegium Recommends Justice Joymalya Bagchi As Apex Court Judge, In Line To Be CJI In 2031
Justice Joymalya Bagchi would be in line to be the Chief Justice of India in 2031 by succeeding Justice K V Vishwanathan.
By Sumit Saxena
Published : March 6, 2025 at 10:10 PM IST
|Updated : March 6, 2025 at 10:37 PM IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended the elevation of Justice Joymalya Bagchi of Calcutta High Court to the Supreme Court. Justice Bagchi would be in line to be the Chief Justice of India in 2031 by succeeding Justice K V Vishwanathan.
The collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, in a statement uploaded on the website of the apex court, said collegium in its meeting held on March 6, 2025, deliberated on and discussed the names of chief justices and senior puisne judges of the high courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court.
The collegium said after carefully evaluating merit, integrity and competence and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, it has recommended the appointment of Justice Joymalya Bagchi, presently a judge of the High Court at Calcutta, as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Justice Bagchi was appointed as a judge of the High Court at Calcutta on June 27, 2011 and transferred to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on January 4, 2021.
He was repatriated to the High Court in Calcutta on November 8, 2021, and has been functioning there since then. He has served as a judge of the high court for more than 13 years. During his long tenure as a judge of the high court, Justice Bagchi has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law.
After the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir on July 18, 2013, as Chief Justice of India, there has not been any Chief Justice of India from the High Court at Calcutta.
On the retirement of Justice K.V. Viswanathan on May 25 2031, Justice Bagchi would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement on October 2, 2031. Justice Bagchi would have a tenure of more than six years before he assumes the office of the Chief Justice of India.
The statement said, “The Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by only one Judge from the High Court at Calcutta. Justice Joymalya Bagchi stands at Sl. No. 11 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices. The Collegium has, therefore, unanimously resolved to recommend that Justice Joymalya Bagchi be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India”.
Read More
