CJI Dipak Misra writes to government, recommends Justice Gogoi as successor

Justice Gogoi was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012. Since then Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been serving the apex court as a senior judge.

New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India Office on Tuesday wrote to the Union of India (UOI), recommending Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India.

With just a month left to his retirement, CJI Dipak Misra, in the letter to the Ministry of Law and Justice, recommended the name of Justice Gogoi as his successor, in view of the principle of seniority.

CJI Dipak Misra is slated to retire on October 2, however, October 2 being the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, October 1 will be CJI Misra's last day of office.

It is a norm that the prior to his retirement, the Chief Justice of India sends the name of his successor to the government. 

As per the memorandum of procedure, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had written to the Chief Justice of India last month seeking the name of his successor.

Following the government's approval, Justice Gogoi will take the oath on October 2. He is slated to retire on November 17, 2019.

Notably, Justice Gogoi was part of four senior Supreme Court judges who had held a press conference earlier this year, raising questions on the functioning of the Supreme Court under CJI Misra. They had questioned the issue of the roster of cases and allocation of benches in the top court.

The press conference was addressed by four senior apex court judges - Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice MB Lokur, and Justice Kurien Joseph.

Here's a brief profile of Justice Ranjan Gogoi:

- Born on November 18, 1954, Justice Gogoi joined the Bar in 1978. He practised mainly in the Gauhati High Court.

- He was appointed as the permanent judge of Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001. 

- Later in 2010. the senior Supreme Court judge was transferred to Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 9, 2010. 

- A year into his transfer, Justice Gogoi was appointed as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 12, 2011. 

- He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012. Since then Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been serving the apex court as a senior judge.