Justice Joymalya Bagchi was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on Monday. With his swearing-in the strength of the top court judges has gone upto 33 against its sanctioned strength of 34 judges. He was administered oath by the Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

Justice Bagchi will go on to become the Chief Justice of India in May 2031. He would succeed Justice K V Viswanathan who will retire as CJI on May 25, 2031. He will have a short tenure of four months and eight days as he will retire from the Supreme Court on October 2, 2031.

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He would be the second Chief Justice of India in recent years, who hails from Calcutta High Court. Earlier, late Justice Altamas Kabir was the Chief Justice of India with Calcutta High Court being his parent High Court. Justice Altamas Kabir was the Chief Justice of India from September 29, 2012, to July 19, 2013.

The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on March 6, 2025, had recommended the elevation of Justice Bagchi as top court judge. Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Bagchi was a judge of the Calcutta High Court.

Justice Bagchi was appointed as a Judge of the Calcutta High Court on June 27, 2011, and transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court on January 4, 2021. He returned to the Calcutta High Court 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 SC Collegium said.

“After the retirement of Justice Kabir on July 18, 2013, as CJI, there has not been any CJI from the High Court at Calcutta. On the retirement of Justice K.V. Viswanathan on May 25, 2031, Justice Bagchi would be in line to assume office as the CJI till his retirement on October 2, 2031. “Justice Bagchi would have a tenure of more than six years before he assumes the office of the CJI,” collegium statement had said.

Recommending the elevation of Justice Bagchi to the Supreme Court, the top court collegium in its statement had said, “after the retirement of Justice Kabir on July 18, 2013, as CJI, there has not been any CJI from the High Court at Calcutta. On the retirement of Justice K.V. Viswanathan on May 25, 2031, Justice Bagchi would be in line to assume office as the CJI till his retirement on October 2, 2031. Justice Bagchi would have a tenure of more than six years before he assumes the office of the CJI.”