List of current Indian chief justices

The Indian judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of India, which is the highest court in the country and the constituent courts. The Supreme Court serves as the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India and consists of 33 judges headed by the Chief Justice of India. ^[1] The High Courts are the top judicial bodies in individual states, controlled and managed by Chief Justices of the respective courts. There are 25 High Courts in the country with seven of them having multiple jurisdictions. The last high courts created in India are the High Court of Telangana and the Andhra Pradesh High Court, both established on January 1, 2019, following the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh. ^[2] The High Courts of India manage a system of sub-ordinate courts headed by the various District and Session Courts in their respective jurisdictions. As per the Constitution of India, the Chief Justice, the other judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President of India. ^[3]

Chief Justice of India

Name	Surya Kant [4] (list)
Image
Date of elevation to Supreme Court	24 May 2019 (6 years, 217 days)
Date of Appointment as CJI	24 November 2025 (33 days)
Date of Retirement	9 February 2027 (−1 year, 44 days)
Tenure	1 year, 78 days
Nominated By	B. R. Gavai
Appointed By	Droupadi Murmu
Seniority rank on the date of elevation	11
Date of Initial Appointment as Judge	9 January 2004 (21 years, 352 days)
Parent High Court	Punjab and Haryana

List of chief justices of High Courts

Chief Justices of High Courts ^[5]

High Court	Image	Name of the Chief Justice	Date of Appointment as Chief Justice	Date of Retirement	Tenure	Nominated as Chief Justice by	Appointed By	Parent High Court	All India seniority rank	Date of Initial Appointment as Judge	Nominated as Judge of by	Remarks
Allahabad High Court		Arun Bhansali (list)	5 February 2024 (1 year, 325 days)	14 October 2029 (−3 years, 291 days)	5 years, 252 days	D. Y. Chandrachud	Droupadi Murmu	Rajasthan	13 Since 15 December 2025	8 January 2013 (12 years, 353 days)	Altamas Kabir
Andhra Pradesh High Court		Dhiraj Singh Thakur (list)	28 July 2023 (2 years, 152 days)	24 April 2026 (−118 days)	2 years, 271 days			Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh	15 Since 15 December 2025	8 March 2013 (12 years, 294 days)
Bombay High Court		Shree Chandrashekhar (list)	5 September 2025 (113 days)	24 May 2027 (−1 year, 148 days)	1 year, 262 days	B. R. Gavai		Jharkhand	14 Since 15 December 2025	17 January 2013 (12 years, 344 days)
Calcutta High Court		Sujoy Paul [†] (list)	8 October 2025 (80 days)	20 June 2026 (−175 days)	256 days	--		Madhya Pradesh	5	27 May 2011 (14 years, 214 days)	S. H. Kapadia
Chhattisgarh High Court		Ramesh Sinha (list)	29 March 2023 (2 years, 273 days)	4 September 2026 (−251 days)	3 years, 160 days	D. Y. Chandrachud		Allahabad	7 Since 15 December 2025	21 November 2011 (14 years, 36 days)
Delhi High Court		Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (list)	29 July 2023 (2 years, 151 days) Date of appointment in current HC 21 January 2025 (340 days)	15 June 2027 (−1 year, 170 days)	3 years, 322 days Tenure in current HC 2 years, 146 days	D. Y. Chandrachud Nominated in current HC Sanjiv Khanna		Allahabad	9 Since 15 December 2025	21 November 2011 (14 years, 36 days)		47th CJ of Bombay From 29 July 2023 – 20 January 2025 (1 year, 176 days)
Gauhati High Court		Ashutosh Kumar (list)	21 July 2025 (159 days)	30 September 2028 (−2 years, 278 days)	3 years, 72 days	B. R. Gavai		Patna	44 Since 15 December 2025	15 May 2014 (11 years, 226 days)	R. M. Lodha
Gujarat High Court		Sunita Agarwal (list)	23 July 2023 (2 years, 157 days)	29 April 2028 (−2 years, 124 days)	4 years, 282 days	D. Y. Chandrachud		Allahabad	8 Since 15 December 2025	21 November 2011 (14 years, 36 days)	S. H. Kapadia
Himachal Pradesh High Court		Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia (list)	29 December 2024 (363 days)	31 October 2027 (−1 year, 308 days)	2 years, 307 days			Punjab and Haryana	6 Since 15 December 2025	30 September 2011 (14 years, 88 days)
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court		Arun Palli (list)	16 April 2025 (255 days)	17 September 2026 (−264 days)	1 year, 155 days	Sanjiv Khanna		Punjab and Haryana	32 Since 15 December 2025	28 December 2013 (11 years, 364 days)	P. Sathasivam
Jharkhand High Court		Tarlok Singh Chauhan (list)	23 July 2025 (157 days)	8 January 2026 (−12 days)	170 days	B. R. Gavai		Himachal Pradesh	42 Since 15 December 2025	23 February 2014 (11 years, 307 days)
Karnataka High Court		Vibhu Bakhru (list)	19 July 2025 (161 days)	1 November 2028 (−2 years, 310 days)	3 years, 106 days			Delhi	18 Since 15 December 2025	17 April 2013 (12 years, 254 days)	Altamas Kabir
Kerala High Court		Nitin Madhukar Jamdar (list)	26 September 2024 (1 year, 92 days)	9 January 2026 (−13 days)	1 year, 106 days	D. Y. Chandrachud		Bombay	10 Since 15 December 2025	23 January 2012 (13 years, 338 days)	S. H. Kapadia
Madhya Pradesh High Court		Sanjeev Sachdeva (list)	17 July 2025 (163 days)	25 December 2026 (−363 days)	1 year, 162 days	B. R. Gavai		Delhi	17 Since 15 December 2025	17 April 2013 (12 years, 254 days)	Altamas Kabir
Madras High Court		Manindra Mohan Shrivastava (list)	6 February 2024 (1 year, 324 days) Date of appointment in current HC 21 July 2025 (159 days)	5 March 2026 (−68 days)	2 years, 28 days Tenure in current HC 228 days	D. Y. Chandrachud Nominated in current HC B. R. Gavai		Chhattisgarh	1 Since 15 December 2025	10 December 2009 (16 years, 17 days)	K. G. Balakrishnan	42nd CJ of Rajasthan From 6 February 2024 – 20 July 2025 (1 year, 165 days)
Manipur High Court		M. Sundar (list)	15 September 2025 (103 days)	18 July 2028 (−2 years, 204 days)	2 years, 308 days	B. R. Gavai		Madras	73 Since 15 December 2025	5 October 2016 (9 years, 83 days)	T. S. Thakur
Meghalaya High Court		Soumen Sen (list)	8 October 2025 (80 days)	26 July 2027 (−1 year, 211 days)	1 year, 292 days			Calcutta	3 Since 15 December 2025	13 April 2011 (14 years, 258 days)	S. H. Kapadia
Orissa High Court		Harish Tandon (list)	26 March 2025 (276 days)	15 November 2026 (−323 days)	1 year, 235 days	Sanjiv Khanna		Calcutta	2 Since 15 December 2025	13 April 2010 (15 years, 258 days)	K. G. Balakrishnan
Patna High Court		Sudhir Singh [†] (list)	23 October 2025 (65 days)	10 December 2027 (−1 year, 348 days)	2 years, 49 days	--		Patna	56	15 April 2015 (10 years, 256 days)	H. L. Dattu
Punjab and Haryana High Court		Sheel Nagu (list)	9 July 2024 (1 year, 171 days)	31 December 2026 (−1 year, 4 days)	2 years, 176 days	D. Y. Chandrachud		Madhya Pradesh	4 Since 15 December 2025	27 May 2011 (14 years, 214 days)	S. H. Kapadia
Rajasthan High Court		Sanjeev Prakash Sharma [†] (list)	28 September 2025 (90 days)	26 September 2026 (−273 days)	364 days	--		Rajasthan	92	16 November 2016 (9 years, 41 days)	T. S. Thakur
Sikkim High Court		Meenakshi Madan Rai [†] (list)	15 December 2025 (12 days)	11 July 2026 (13 days)	209 days	--		Sikkim	57	15 April 2015 (10 years, 256 days)	H. L. Dattu
Telangana High Court		Aparesh Kumar Singh (list)	17 April 2023 (2 years, 254 days) Date of appointment in current HC 19 July 2025 (161 days)	6 July 2027 (−1 year, 191 days)	4 years, 81 days Tenure in current HC 1 year, 353 days	D. Y. Chandrachud Nominated in current HC B. R. Gavai		Jharkhand	11 Since 15 December 2025	24 January 2012 (13 years, 337 days)	S. H. Kapadia	8th CJ of Tripura From 17 April 2023 – 18 July 2025 (2 years, 93 days)
Tripura High Court		Mamidanna Satyaratna Ramachandra Rao (list)	30 May 2023 (2 years, 211 days) Date of appointment in current HC 22 July 2025 (158 days)	6 August 2028 (−2 years, 223 days)	5 years, 69 days Tenure in current HC 3 years, 16 days	D. Y. Chandrachud Nominated in current HC B. R. Gavai		Telangana	12 Since 15 December 2025	29 June 2012 (13 years, 181 days)		28th CJ of Himachal Pradesh From 30 May 2023 – 24 September 2024 (1 year, 118 days) 16th CJ of Jharkhand From 25 September 2024 – 21 July 2025 (300 days)
Uttarakhand High Court		Guhanathan Narendar (list)	26 December 2024 (1 year, 1 day)	9 January 2026 (−13 days)	1 year, 15 days	D. Y. Chandrachud		Karnataka	51 Since 15 December 2025	2 January 2015 (10 years, 359 days)	H. L. Dattu

Key † Acting Chief Justice'

Dates of Changes in Seniority Rank (S.R.):

15 December 2025 - Retirement of Biswanath Somadder (CJ of Sikkim) on 14 December 2025 (S.R. 1)

See also

• List of current Indian governors
• List of current Indian lieutenant governors and administrators
• List of current Indian chief ministers
• List of current Indian deputy chief ministers
• List of current Indian legislative speakers and chairpersons
• List of current Indian opposition leaders
• List of female chief justices in India
• List of sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India
• List of former judges of the Supreme Court of India
• List of female judges of the Supreme Court of India
• List of sitting judges of the high courts of India
• List of former chief justices of the high courts of India

References

1. "Rule of law index 2016". Justice Project. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
2. "Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to have separate HCs". The Hindu. 26 December 2018. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 October 2025.
3. "Memorandum of procedure of appointment of Supreme Court Judges". Government of India . Archived from the original on 9 March 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
4. "Justice Surya Kant sworn in as 53rd Chief Justice of India". thehindu.com. 24 November 2025.
5. List of Chief Justice of the High Court (PDF). Government of India (Report). Retrieved 21 November 2016.