Four Supreme Court Judges To Retire In 2024

In 2024, the Apex Court will bid farewell to four judges including the present Chief Justice of India, bringing down the total strength of the  Supreme Court to 29 judges out of the total sanctioned strength of 34. Following is the list of retiring judges in the year 2024.

Justice Aniruddha Bose: 10.4.2024

Due to retire on April 10, 2024, Justice Bose was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. Before the elevation, Justice Bose served as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. Justice Bose was part of several important Constitutional Benches including the reference Bench against the EV Chinnaiah judgement relating to the issue of preferential treatment in reservations; directions on Passive Euthanasia; appointment of Election Commissioners; Clarification on Joseph Shine and Validity of Jallikattu.

Justice Bose was also part of the majority opinion in M/s N.N. Global Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. v. M/s. Indo Unique Flame Ltd. And Ors. which was later overruled by a 7-judge bench in December.

Justice A.S. Bopanna : 19.5.2024

Justice A.S. Boppanna who will be retiring on May 19, 2024, was elevated from the position of Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court to a Supreme Court Judge on May 24, 2019. Justice Bopanna has been part of some noteworthy judgements pertaining to the Centre's 2016 Demonetisation Scheme; Freedom of Speech and Expression of MPs/MLAs ; OBC Reservations in NEET and the TATA-Mistry Case.

Justice Bopanna was additionally part of a 3-judge bench which stayed the Bombay High Court's Judgement acquitting the accused under S.8 of POCSO Act,2012 on lack of 'skin-to-skin' contact with the victim. In 2020, the 3-judge bench which dismissed the plea of juvenility raised by a death row convict in the infamous Nirbhaya Case also had Justice Bopanna as part of the Coram. At present, Justice Bopanna is part of two Constitutional Benches, dealing with Parliamentarian's Immunity in Bribery Cases and Section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 judicial pronouncements of which are awaited.

Justice Hima Kohli : 1.9.2024

Assuming her term of office from August 8, 2021, Justice Hima Kohli is set to retire on September 1, 2024. Before her elevation, Justice Kohli was serving as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court and is the 9th woman judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Justice Kohli had authored notable judgments on issues of women's rights including directions for implementation of the PoSH Act and interpretation of 'dowry demand'.

The key Constitutional Benches, which Justice Kohli has been part of include the Marriage Equality Case; the Maharashtra Political Crisis and Delhi Government v. LG. Additionally, Justice Kohli was also part of the three-judge bench led by former CJI NV Ramana which appointed an expert committee to enquire into the allegations in the Pegasus Spyware Case.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud : 10.11.2024

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud who is the incumbent Chief Justice of India will retire on November 10, 2024, after serving a two-year-long tenure. Justice Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India on November 9, 2022, and was elevated from the Allahabad High Court on May 13, 2016, to be appointed as a Supreme Court Judge. He will be succeeded by Justice Sanjiv Khanna upon his retirement.

The Chief Justice has been a part of several landmark judgements including the grant of permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army; the 9 Judge bench on the Right to Privacy as a basic fundamental right; the issue of the constitutionality of S.377 of the IPC and Ayodhya Ram Mandir Dispute. Most recently he also delivered the verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Justice Chandrachud dissented notably in the Marriage Equality Case wherein he recognised that while queer couples do have a right to union.

Presently, three Constitutional Benches led by the CJI on the constitutionality of S.6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955; the validity of the electoral bonds scheme and reference against the 2018 Asian Resurfacing Judgement have reserved their judgements.