Justice Joymalya Bagchi appointed as Supreme Court judge: Know all about the lawyer set to be CJI in 2031

Justice Bagchi was born in Calcutta on October 2, 1966

The Centre approved the appointment of Justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court. He will be in line to be the Chief Justice of India in May 2031.

Bagchi will become CJI following the retirement of Justice K V Viswanathan on May 25, 2031, and have a relatively brief tenure of a little over four months, until his retirement on October 2, 2031.

The Supreme Court collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, had recommended Justice Bagchi’s appointment on March 6.

Who is Joymalya Bagchi?

According to Indian Express, Justice Bagchi was born in Calcutta on October 2, 1966. He stood first in the LLB examinations in 1991 and graduated from Calcutta University. He enrolled as an advocate in November 1991 and began practising at the Calcutta High Court, where he specialised in both criminal and constitutional law matters. During his career as an advocate at the high court, Justice Bagchi argued against the West Bengal government’s ban on Taslima Nasreen’s book Dwikhondito in 2003.

He was also an empanelled advocate for the Centre and the West Bengal state government. As an advocate, he represented several public authorities, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Kolkata Port Trust, and the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation. He was once a part-time lecturer at the University of Calcutta’s law department and Jogesh Chandra Choudhary College of Law. He has also published several articles in law journals.

Justice Bagchi was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta high court in June 2011. In January 2021, he was transferred to the Andhra Pradesh high court, before being repatriated to the Calcutta high court in November 2021.

Justice Bagchi’s appointment helps strengthen the Supreme Court bench, which had been functioning with 32 judges against the sanctioned 34.