Justice BV Nagarathna to become India's first woman Chief Justice in 2027

India in 2027 may get its first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) with Justice BV Nagarathna's appointment as the Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday cleared nine names. 

Recommended by the SC collegium, Justice BV Nagarathna from Karnataka High Court, if elevated now, could become the Chief Justice of India in 2027. 

Justice BV Nagarathna was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka in February 2008 and a permanent Judge in February 2010.

The other names cleared by the collegium included two more women judges, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Bela Trivedi, media reports said. Justice Hima Kohli is the chief justice of Telangana High Court and Justice Bela Trivedi is a judge in Gujarat HC. 

The nine names also included one direct name from the Supreme Court bar, Senior advocate PS Narasimha for appointment to the bench. 

According to Hindustan Times, three out of nine appointments by the SC collegium can become the CJI during their tenure at the Supreme Court, this will include Justice BV Nagarathna becoming the first woman Chief Justice of India, for a little over a month.

The development comes after former CJI SA  Bobde had said, ahead of his retirement, " ...the time has come for India to have a woman Chief Justice".  

The other names, recommended by the collegium include justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka (chief justice of Karnataka HC), Vikram Nath (chief justice of Gujarat HC), Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari (chief justice of Sikkim HC), CT Ravikumar (judge in Kerala HC), and MM Sundresh (judge in Kerala HC), reported Hindustan Times quoting sources. 

The SC collegium compromised CJI NV Ramana, and justices Uday U Lalit, AM Khanwilkar, Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, and L Nageswara Rao.