The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday (06.03.2025) recommended the elevation of Calcutta High Court Judge, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, to the Supreme Court, which currently has two vacancies in its sanctioned strength of 34 Judges.
If approved by the government, Justice Bagchi could become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) following the retirement of Justice K.V. Viswanathan on May 25, 2031. However, his tenure as CJI would be brief, lasting a little over four months, before his retirement on October 2, 2031.
The collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Bhushan R. Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S. Oka, and Vikram Nath, selected Justice Bagchi after evaluating the judgments and judicial acumen of multiple judges and Chief Justices of High Courts who were under consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court. Notably, Justice Bagchi is ranked 11th in the combined all-India seniority of High Court judges, including Chief Justices.
Justice Bagchi was first appointed as a Judge of the Calcutta High Court in June 2011. He was transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court in January 2021 before being repatriated to the Calcutta High Court in November of the same year. With over 13 years of experience as a High Court Judge, he has expertise in various fields of law.
The collegium also pointed out that since the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir as CJI in 2013, no judge from the Calcutta High Court has held the position. At present, Justice Dipankar Datta is the only Judge from the Calcutta High Court serving on the Supreme Court bench.
Click here to read Collegium Recommendation
