Law Ministry asks CJI Dipak Misra to name the next Chief Justice of India

Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, has been asked by the Union Law Ministry to suggest the name of his successor, reports ET..A formal letter to this effect has been reportedly sent to the CJI Misra, who is due to retire from office on October 2, 2018. As per the report, CJI Misra is expected to furnish his reply within a few days, likely within the first week of September..Conventionally, outgoing Supreme Court Chief Justice names the next senior most judge as the succeeding Chief Justice of India..If this convention is followed, Justice Ranjan Gogoi is next in line to be the Chief Justice, being the second-most senior judge of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Misra. Justice Gogoi was elevated to the Supreme Court in April 2012, following his tenure as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court..Whereas Chief Justice Misra is expected to demit the office in October, on attaining the current superannuation age of 65 years, there were rumours earlier that the government was contemplating the introduction of a Bill to increase the retirement age for judges..However, putting an end to speculation, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently clarified that no such plan was in the works.