53rd Chief Justice of India
- Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai has recommended Justice Surya Kant as his successor.
- Justice Surya Kant is currently the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.
- He will become the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI).
- The recommendation was made under the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) governing appointments of the CJI and Supreme Court judges.
- CJI Gavai retires on November 24, 2025.
About Article 124
- The Constitution of India does not mention any procedure for appointing the CJI.
- Article 124 (1) of the Constitution merely says, “There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India.”
- Clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution says that every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President.
Appointment of CJI
- The President appoints the CJI under Article 124(2) of the Constitution.
- The outgoing CJI recommends their successor based on seniority.
- The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the Prime Minister, who then advises the President.
- As per the Second Judges Case (1993), the senior-most Supreme Court judge is appointed as the CJI.
The Central Information Commission (CIC)
- The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the vacancies in the Central Information Commission will be filled in ‘two or three’ weeks.
About the Central Information Commission (CIC)
- The Central Information Commission (CIC) is a statutory body in India, established under the provisions of the Right to Information Act (2005).
- The Headquarters of CIC is in New Delhi.
- The Central Information Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten Information Commissioners.
- They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of:
- The Prime Minister as the Chairperson,
- The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and
- A Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
SIR 2.0
- Election Commission (EC) launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
- The exercise will cover 51 crore voters across 12 States and Union Territories, including:
- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.
- Assam excluded
- No SIR in Assam for now, as the State goes to polls next year.
- Reason: Assam has separate citizenship provisions under the Citizenship Act, and a citizenship verification process is underway under Supreme Court supervision.
Background
- First phase of SIR: Conducted in Bihar, resulting in deletion of over 68 lakh names from electoral rolls.
- Most States last held an SIR between 2002–2004.
- Current SIR aims to update and standardize voter addresses and correct discrepancies through voter mapping.
