Justice NV Ramana is the most senior judge in the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Bobde.
Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has recommended Justice NV Ramana as his successor after he retires next month. Chief Justice Bobde is set to retire on April 23. The government had last week asked him to recommend his successor, news agency PTI had reported quoting sources.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday reportedly sent a letter to Justice Bobde, seeking his recommendation.
Justice NV Ramana is the most senior judge in the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Bobde.
Born on August 27, 1957, Justice Ramana will have a tenure as the country's top judge for a year and four months, till August 26, 2022.
The judge, who is from an agricultural family in Andhra Pradesh, was appointed as a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in June 2000. He served as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court before being elevated to the Supreme Court in February 2014.
He was part of a bench that ruled that suspension of Internet in Jammu and Kashmir should be reviewed immediately. He was also part of the panel of judges which held that the Chief Justice's office comes under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
As per the procedures for the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, "appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office".
Justice Bobde was sworn in as the 47th Chief Justice of India in November 2019, succeeding Justice (retired) Ranjan Gogoi. He has been part of several key cases, including the five-judge constitution bench that passed the historic verdict that cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
(With inputs from PTI)