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👨🏻‍⚖️ 49th Chief Justice of India (CJI): • Justice U.U. Lalit sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Droupadi Murmu. • He will be the second CJI to have been appointed directly from the Bar, without serving as a judge of a high court. □ Who can become the CJI? • Apart from being an Indian citizen, the person must (a) have been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession or (b) have been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession, or (c) be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. □ Who appoints the CJI? • The Chief Justice of India and the other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Indian Constitution. It is mentioned in Article 124 that appointment by the President is to be done “after consultation” with judges of the Supreme Court, as the President may “deem necessary”. • The CJI is appointed by the President as well once the consultation with the judges of SC and HC is done as the President deems necessary. • The President administers the oath of office to Chief Justice of India. • The President Droupadi Murmu administers the oath of office to Justice Lalit. • The Supreme Court’s maximum strength can be 34 judges (including Chief Justice of India). □ Appointment of CJI: • The Collegium System is a system through which appointments, promotion and transfer of the judges of the Supreme Court are decided. It is carried forward by a forum consisting of the Chief Justice of India along with four of the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. • No such mention (of the Collegium) has been made either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments. • The collegium system was talked about in the three judges case in Supreme Court. • It was decided in the three judges case that a consultation of the plurality of judges is required for appointment of the CJI in India. This means that the only opinion of the CJI would not be the only factor in choosing the next CJI. The CJI must consult the four most senior judges of the Supreme Court also. □ What is the procedure for the removal of the CJI? • The constitution states: “A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting”, with the address in the same session presented to the President for removal on one of the two grounds – proved misbehaviour or incapacity. □ Other Facts: • Justice Fathima Beevi was the first woman SC judge in India appointed in 1989. • Justice B.V. Nagarathna, who is in line to be India's first woman Chief Justice of India.