Collegium recommends Justice Bagchi as SC judge; in line to be CJI in 2031

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended elevation of Justice Joymalya Bagchi, presently a judge of the Calcutta High Court, as a judge of the top court. On appointment, he would be in line to be the Chief Justice of India in 2031 by succeeding Justice K V Vishwanathan.

In its meeting, the five-judge Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna unanimously resolved to recommend for appointment of Justice Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court. He stood at serial number 11 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices.

In a statement, the Collegium said, it deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and senior puisne judges of the High Courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court.

"After carefully evaluating merit, integrity and competence and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium has recommended appointment of Justice Bagchi, presently a judge of the High Court at Calcutta, as a judge of the Supreme Court of India," it said.

If cleared by the Union government, Justice Bagchi would be the Chief Justice of India between May 26, 2031 till October 2, 2031. He would have a tenure of more than six years before he assumed the office of the Chief Justice of India.

The Collegium noted 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 Calcutta High 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 at 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," the Collegium said.

The Collegium also stated that it has also taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the bench of the Supreme Court is represented by Justice Dipankar Datta, only one judge from the Calcutta High Court.

Born on October 3, 1966, Justice Bagchi did his schooling from Calcutta Boys' School. He passed LLB (Five Years' Course) from Calcutta University in 1991 and stood first in all the LLB examinations. He got enrolled as an advocate on November 28, 1991 and commenced his practice in the Calcutta from 1991.