The Centre has set in motion the process of appointing the next head of the judiciary by writing to Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit to recommend his successor.

Justice Lalit will retire as the CJI on November 8 after a brief tenure of 74 days.

“As per the MoP (memorandum of procedure) on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, today the Hon'ble Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor,” the law and justice ministry tweeted.

This is perhaps the first time that the ministry has tweeted about it.

According to the MoP, the CJI names the senior-most judge as his or her successor. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud is the senior-most judge after the CJI.

Going by the established practice and convention, Justice Chandrachud will be the 50th CJI and will take oath on November 9.

He will have a tenure of two years, demitting office on November 10, 2024. PTI

While Supreme Court judges retire after attaining the age of 65, high court judges retire at 62.