The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended the appointment of Calcutta high court judge justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court. If approved by the government, justice Bagchi may become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2031, albeit for a little over four months, before retiring on October 2, 2031.
The collegium, comprising CJI Sanjiv Khanna and justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, made this recommendation during its meeting on Thursday. With a sanctioned strength of 34, the Supreme Court is currently short of two judges.
The collegium, while evaluating eligible chief justices and senior puisne judges of high courts, considered justice Bagchi’s merit, integrity and competence, alongside other factors, though he is ranked 11th in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges, including chief justices.
Justice Bagchi, who was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta high court in June 2011, 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. He has served as a high court judge for more than 13 years and has gained experience in diverse fields of law.
The collegium highlighted that after the retirement of justice Altamas Kabir as CJI in 2013, there has been no CJI from the Calcutta high court. As per seniority, on the retirement of justice KV Viswanathan on May 25, 2031, justice Bagchi is in line to assume the office of the CJI and would hold that position until his retirement on October 2, 2031.
The collegium noted that currently, only one judge from the Calcutta high court, justice Dipankar Datta, is serving on the Supreme Court bench.
In the same meeting, the collegium also recommended the appointment of justice Harish Tandon, a judge of the Calcutta high court, as the chief justice of the Orissa high court.
This vacancy arose following the retirement of justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh on January 19, 2025. Justice Tandon, who was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta high court on April 13, 2010, ranks seventh in the all-India seniority list of high court judges, including chief justices. He has extensive experience in civil matters and has served as a senior puisne judge in his parent high court, the resolution noted.
The collegium assessed justice Tandon’s competence, integrity, and judicial conduct and concluded that he is fit for appointment as the chief justice of the Orissa high court.
Both recommendations will now be sent to the Union government for approval before the appointments are finalised.