He had the historic distinction of serving as the first Chief Justice of independent India. His tenure was tragically cut short when he died of a sudden heart attack while in office.

He assumed the highest judicial office following the sudden demise of his predecessor. His early judgments laid the critical groundwork for the interpretation of fundamental rights in the newly formed republic.

Before his elevation to the Supreme Court, he played a pivotal role as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir during its accession to India. He was known for his sharp administrative acumen and brief but impactful tenure at the apex court.

He was deeply respected for his profound knowledge of Hindu law and religious endowments. He voluntarily resigned from his post shortly before his death due to failing health.

He presided over the Supreme Court during a formative era of Indian jurisprudence. His judgments were noted for their literary elegance and strict adherence to constitutional boundaries.

He rose from modest beginnings in a small agricultural family to the highest judicial seat in the country. During his term, he delivered several landmark rulings concerning self-incrimination and criminal law.

He was a champion of social justice and extensively shaped India's labor and industrial laws. After his retirement, he contributed significantly to academia as the Chancellor of Mumbai University.

His tenure as Chief Justice was brief, lasting just over three months before his mandated retirement. He was well regarded for his concise and highly analytical legal opinions.

He fiercely defended fundamental rights and famously ruled that Parliament could not amend the Constitution to abridge them. He unexpectedly resigned from the bench to contest the Indian presidential election in 1967.

He had a long and distinguished career as a civil servant in the ICS before transitioning completely to the judiciary. He often advocated for a balanced approach between state power and individual liberties.

He holds the unique distinction of having served as Chief Justice, Vice President, and acting President of India. His judgments were celebrated for their exceptional scholarly depth and linguistic brilliance.

His tenure as Chief Justice was extremely short, lasting barely over a month. He later gained immense historical prominence for heading the Shah Commission that investigated excesses committed during the Emergency.

He was the very first Chief Justice to be elevated directly from the Bar Council rather than from a High Court. He famously presided over the monumental Kesavananda Bharati case, which established the Basic Structure Doctrine.

His appointment was highly controversial as it superseded three senior judges during the Indira Gandhi regime. He presided over the court during the Emergency era, delivering several rulings favorable to the central government.

His elevation to the top post also involved superseding a senior judge, continuing a controversial trend of the 1970s. He was a deeply philosophical jurist whose writings often invoked broader historical and moral contexts.

He holds the historic record for the longest-serving Chief Justice of India, commanding the bench for over seven years. His era saw the stabilization of the court after the Emergency and the delivery of several landmark civil rights judgments.

He is widely celebrated as the pioneer of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Indian legal system. His visionary approach allowed ordinary citizens to approach the Supreme Court simply by writing a letter.

He facilitated the highly debated initial settlement of the catastrophic Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Following his retirement from the Indian judiciary, he was elected to serve as a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

He was a firm advocate for the independence of the judiciary and judicial accountability. He made headlines shortly before his retirement by publicly criticizing the declining ethical standards within the legal profession.

He confronted significant institutional challenges, including allegations of corruption against sitting judges. He died of a sudden heart attack in London while still actively serving as the Chief Justice.

After his tenure as Chief Justice, he became the first chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He also headed the official commission of inquiry into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

He holds the record for the shortest tenure in the history of the Supreme Court, serving for just 17 days. Despite his brief time at the helm, he had a lengthy and impactful career on the bench handling environmental matters.

He was the nephew of the very first Chief Justice of India, Sir H.J. Kania. He presided over the monumental Mandal Commission judgment which upheld reservations for Other Backward Classes.

He came from a deeply distinguished legal family, being the son of a former Attorney General of India. His brief tenure was heavily consumed by administrative challenges following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

He authored the critical Second Judges Case, which established the Supreme Court Collegium system for appointing judges. He later chaired the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution.

He began his career as an ordinary civil judge and climbed the ranks to become the third Muslim Chief Justice of India. His tenure was marked by a strong defense of secularism and federalism in the Constitution.

He is celebrated for authoring the Vishaka Guidelines, which established the first legal framework against workplace sexual harassment in India. His fierce commitment to judicial accountability redefined the modern Indian legal landscape.

He served during a period of transition and helped refine the Collegium system through the Third Judges Case. After retirement, he headed the Punchhi Commission to evaluate Centre-State relations.

He was a staunch advocate for human rights and laid down strict guidelines for police conduct during arrests. He also spearheaded massive initiatives to clear backlogs in the district courts through Lok Adalats.

He was widely known for his absolute integrity and famously remarked that a small percentage of the judiciary was corrupt. He maintained an extremely low public profile and preferred his judgments to speak for themselves.

He delivered the landmark TMA Pai judgment which redefined the autonomy of minority educational institutions. He was also instrumental in promoting the use of information technology within the Supreme Court registry.

He was the first Odia to reach the office of the Chief Justice of India. His extremely short tenure of barely six weeks focused primarily on administrative clearances rather than constitutional benches.

He actively intervened in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots to ensure fair trials, famously moving the Best Bakery case out of the state. He fiercely defended the independence of the judiciary from political interference.

His tenure was one of the shortest on record, lasting less than a month during the summer vacation of the court. He later served as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.

He firmly believed that the courts should exercise restraint and not interfere excessively in legislative domains. He controversially struck down the IMDT Act, deeply impacting the politics of immigration in Assam.

He oversaw the massive and controversial commercial sealing drive in Delhi to enforce zoning laws. His post-retirement legacy was marred by public debates regarding conflict of interest during those specific rulings.

He made history as the very first Dalit Chief Justice of India. He mandated the introduction of mid-day meals in schools and supported the expansion of right-to-food initiatives.

He was a rigorous disciplinarian known for his impeccable integrity and deep expertise in tax and corporate law. He presided over the cancellation of 122 telecom licenses during the massive 2G spectrum scandal.

He was widely respected as a compassionate judge who focused heavily on human rights and juvenile justice. His final days in office were clouded by a leaked and highly controversial judgment regarding medical entrance exams.

He fundamentally changed Indian elections by mandating the inclusion of the NOTA button on electronic voting machines. After retiring, he broke convention by accepting an appointment as the Governor of Kerala.

He famously described the Central Bureau of Investigation as a "caged parrot" speaking in its master's voice. He struck down massive corporate coal block allocations to root out political corruption.

He presided over the historic bench that struck down the government's attempt to replace the Collegium with the National Judicial Appointments Commission. He subsequently led the National Human Rights Commission after his retirement.

He openly wept at a conference while pleading with the Prime Minister to appoint more judges to clear judicial backlogs. He led sweeping reforms to clean up the administration of cricket in India.

He was the first Chief Justice from the Sikh community to lead the Indian judiciary. He authored the landmark judgment that declared the practice of instant Triple Talaq unconstitutional.

His tumultuous tenure witnessed a historic, unprecedented press conference by four senior judges protesting his administrative decisions. Despite the controversies, he delivered monumental judgments expanding LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality.

He was the first Chief Justice to hail from the northeast region of India. He presided over the bench that finally resolved the centuries-old Ayodhya Ram Mandir dispute, and later accepted a nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

He guided the Supreme Court through the unprecedented logistical challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic. His tenure heavily relied on virtual hearings to keep the wheels of justice moving during national lockdowns.

He aggressively pushed the government to clear massive judicial vacancies, resulting in a record number of High Court appointments. He was highly vocal about preserving democratic institutions and safeguarding press freedom.

He was only the second Chief Justice in history to be elevated directly from the Bar rather than from a High Court bench. During his ultra-short 73-day tenure, he dramatically streamlined case listings and introduced live streaming for constitutional benches.

He is the son of the 16th CJI, making them the first father-son duo to head the Indian judiciary. His digital-first administration modernized court infrastructure, while his benches famously struck down the Electoral Bonds scheme.

He navigated a politically charged era with a reputation for intense, quiet pragmatism and swift case disposal. He previously co-authored the critical judgment that unanimously upheld the abrogation of Article 370.

He made history as the second Dalit Chief Justice of India, assuming office 15 years after K.G. Balakrishnan. His tenure focused deeply on administrative discipline and balancing environmental conservation with infrastructure development.