<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Sir H.J. Kania </Td> <Td> 000000001947 - 08 - 14 - 0000 14 August 1947 </Td> <Td> 000000001950 - 01 - 26 - 0000 26 January 1950 </Td> <Td> 896 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td> The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma </Td> </Tr> <P> ‡--Date of Resignation </P> <P> Since the birth of the Republic of India on 26 January 1950, 45 people have served as the Chief Justice of India (CJI). While H.J. Kania is the inaugural CJI, the current incumbent is Dipak Misra who was appointed as Chief Justice of India on 28 August 2017 . Justice Y.V. Chandrachud is the longest serving Chief Justice (000000001978 - 02 - 01 - 0000 February 1978 - 000000001985 - 07 - 01 - 0000 July 1985). </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Number </Th> <Th> Name </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Period of office </Th> <Th> Length of term (days) </Th> <Th> Bar </Th> <Th> Appointed by </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> H.J. Kania </Td> <Td> 000000001950 - 01 - 26 - 0000 26 January 1950 </Td> <Td> 000000001951 - 11 - 06 - 0000 6 November 1951 </Td> <Td> 649 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td> Rajendra Prasad </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> M. Patanjali Sastri </Td> <Td> 000000001951 - 11 - 07 - 0000 7 November 1951 </Td> <Td> 000000001954 - 01 - 03 - 0000 3 January 1954 </Td> <Td> 788 </Td> <Td> Madras High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Mehr Chand Mahajan </Td> <Td> 000000001954 - 01 - 04 - 0000 4 January 1954 </Td> <Td> 000000001954 - 12 - 22 - 0000 22 December 1954 </Td> <Td> 352 </Td> <Td> Punjab and Haryana High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Bijan Kumar Mukherjea </Td> <Td> 000000001954 - 12 - 23 - 0000 23 December 1954 </Td> <Td> 000000001956 - 01 - 31 - 0000 31 January 1956 </Td> <Td> 404 </Td> <Td> Calcutta High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> Sudhi Ranjan Das </Td> <Td> 000000001956 - 02 - 01 - 0000 1 February 1956 </Td> <Td> 000000001959 - 09 - 30 - 0000 30 September 1959 </Td> <Td> 1337 </Td> <Td> Calcutta High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha </Td> <Td> 000000001959 - 10 - 01 - 0000 1 October 1959 </Td> <Td> 000000001964 - 01 - 31 - 0000 31 January 1964 </Td> <Td> 1583 </Td> <Td> Patna High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 7 </Td> <Td> P.B. Gajendragadkar </Td> <Td> 000000001964 - 02 - 01 - 0000 1 February 1964 </Td> <Td> 000000001966 - 03 - 15 - 0000 15 March 1966 </Td> <Td> 773 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td> Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 8 </Td> <Td> Amal Kumar Sarkar </Td> <Td> 000000001966 - 03 - 16 - 0000 16 March 1966 </Td> <Td> 000000001966 - 06 - 29 - 0000 29 June 1966 </Td> <Td> 105 </Td> <Td> Calcutta High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> Koka Subba Rao </Td> <Td> 000000001966 - 06 - 30 - 0000 30 June 1966 </Td> <Td> 000000001967 - 04 - 11 - 0000 11 April 1967 </Td> <Td> 285 </Td> <Td> Madras High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 10 </Td> <Td> Kailas Nath Wanchoo </Td> <Td> 000000001967 - 04 - 12 - 0000 12 April 1967 </Td> <Td> 000000001968 - 02 - 24 - 0000 24 February 1968 </Td> <Td> 318 </Td> <Td> Allahabad High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 11 </Td> <Td> Mohammad Hidayatullah </Td> <Td> 000000001968 - 02 - 25 - 0000 25 February 1968 </Td> <Td> 000000001970 - 12 - 16 - 0000 16 December 1970 </Td> <Td> 1025 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> Zakir Hussain </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 12 </Td> <Td> Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah </Td> <Td> 000000001970 - 12 - 17 - 0000 17 December 1970 </Td> <Td> 000000001971 - 01 - 21 - 0000 21 January 1971 </Td> <Td> 35 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td> Varahagiri Venkata Giri </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 13 </Td> <Td> Sarv Mittra Sikri </Td> <Td> 000000001971 - 01 - 22 - 0000 22 January 1971 </Td> <Td> 000000001973 - 04 - 25 - 0000 25 April 1973 </Td> <Td> 824 </Td> <Td> Lahore High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 14 </Td> <Td> Ajit Nath Ray </Td> <Td> 000000001973 - 04 - 26 - 0000 26 April 1973 </Td> <Td> 000000001977 - 01 - 27 - 0000 27 January 1977 </Td> <Td> 1372 </Td> <Td> Calcutta High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 15 </Td> <Td> Mirza Hameedullah Beg </Td> <Td> 000000001977 - 01 - 28 - 0000 28 January 1977 </Td> <Td> 000000001978 - 02 - 21 - 0000 21 February 1978 </Td> <Td> 389 </Td> <Td> Allahabad High Court </Td> <Td> Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 16 </Td> <Td> Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud </Td> <Td> 000000001978 - 02 - 22 - 0000 22 February 1978 </Td> <Td> 000000001985 - 07 - 11 - 0000 11 July 1985 </Td> <Td> 2696 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td> Neelam Sanjiva Reddy </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 17 </Td> <Td> Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati </Td> <Td> 000000001985 - 07 - 12 - 0000 12 July 1985 </Td> <Td> 000000001986 - 12 - 20 - 0000 20 December 1986 </Td> <Td> 526 </Td> <Td> Gujarat High Court </Td> <Td> Gyani Zail Singh </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18 </Td> <Td> Raghunandan Swarup Pathak </Td> <Td> 000000001986 - 12 - 21 - 0000 21 December 1986 </Td> <Td> 000000001989 - 06 - 18 - 0000 18 June 1989 </Td> <Td> 940 </Td> <Td> Allahabad High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 19 </Td> <Td> Engalaguppe Seetharamiah Venkataramiah </Td> <Td> 000000001989 - 06 - 19 - 0000 19 June 1989 </Td> <Td> 000000001989 - 12 - 17 - 0000 17 December 1989 </Td> <Td> 181 </Td> <Td> Karnataka High Court </Td> <Td> Ramaswamy Venkataraman </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 20 </Td> <Td> Sabyasachi Mukharji </Td> <Td> 000000001989 - 12 - 18 - 0000 18 December 1989 </Td> <Td> 000000001990 - 09 - 25 - 0000 25 September 1990 </Td> <Td> 281 </Td> <Td> Calcutta High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 21 </Td> <Td> Ranganath Misra </Td> <Td> 000000001990 - 09 - 26 - 0000 26 September 1990 </Td> <Td> 000000001991 - 11 - 24 - 0000 24 November 1991 </Td> <Td> 424 </Td> <Td> Odisha High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 22 </Td> <Td> Kamal Narain Singh </Td> <Td> 000000001991 - 11 - 25 - 0000 25 November 1991 </Td> <Td> 000000001991 - 12 - 12 - 0000 12 December 1991 </Td> <Td> 17 </Td> <Td> Allahabad High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 23 </Td> <Td> Madhukar Hiralal Kania </Td> <Td> 000000001991 - 12 - 13 - 0000 13 December 1991 </Td> <Td> 000000001992 - 11 - 17 - 0000 17 November 1992 </Td> <Td> 340 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 24 </Td> <Td> Lalit Mohan Sharma </Td> <Td> 000000001992 - 11 - 18 - 0000 18 November 1992 </Td> <Td> 000000001993 - 02 - 11 - 0000 11 February 1993 </Td> <Td> 85 </Td> <Td> Patna High Court </Td> <Td> Shankar Dayal Sharma </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 25 </Td> <Td> Manepalli Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah </Td> <Td> 000000001993 - 02 - 12 - 0000 12 February 1993 </Td> <Td> 000000001994 - 10 - 24 - 0000 24 October 1994 </Td> <Td> 619 </Td> <Td> Karnataka High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 26 </Td> <Td> Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi </Td> <Td> 000000001994 - 10 - 25 - 0000 25 October 1994 </Td> <Td> 000000001997 - 03 - 24 - 0000 24 March 1997 </Td> <Td> 881 </Td> <Td> Gujarat High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 27 </Td> <Td> Jagdish Sharan Verma </Td> <Td> 000000001997 - 03 - 25 - 0000 25 March 1997 </Td> <Td> 000000001998 - 01 - 17 - 0000 17 January 1998 </Td> <Td> 298 </Td> <Td> Madhya Pradesh High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 28 </Td> <Td> Madan Mohan Punchhi </Td> <Td> 000000001998 - 01 - 18 - 0000 18 January 1998 </Td> <Td> 000000001998 - 10 - 09 - 0000 9 October 1998 </Td> <Td> 264 </Td> <Td> Punjab and Haryana High Court </Td> <Td> Kocheril Raman Narayanan </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 29 </Td> <Td> Adarsh Sein Anand </Td> <Td> 000000001998 - 10 - 10 - 0000 10 October 1998 </Td> <Td> 000000002001 - 10 - 31 - 0000 31 October 2001 </Td> <Td> 1,117 </Td> <Td> Jammu and Kashmir High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 30 </Td> <Td> Sam Piroj Bharucha </Td> <Td> 000000002001 - 11 - 01 - 0000 1 November 2001 </Td> <Td> 000000002002 - 05 - 05 - 0000 5 May 2002 </Td> <Td> 185 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 31 </Td> <Td> Bhupinder Nath Kirpal </Td> <Td> 000000002002 - 05 - 06 - 0000 6 May 2002 </Td> <Td> 000000002002 - 11 - 07 - 0000 7 November 2002 </Td> <Td> 185 </Td> <Td> Delhi High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 32 </Td> <Td> Gopal Ballav Pattanaik </Td> <Td> 000000002002 - 11 - 08 - 0000 8 November 2002 </Td> <Td> 000000002002 - 12 - 18 - 0000 18 December 2002 </Td> <Td> 40 </Td> <Td> Odisha High Court </Td> <Td> A.P.J. Abdul Kalam </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 33 </Td> <Td> V.N. Khare </Td> <Td> 000000002002 - 12 - 19 - 0000 19 December 2002 </Td> <Td> 000000002004 - 05 - 01 - 0000 1 May 2004 </Td> <Td> 499 </Td> <Td> Allahabad High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 34 </Td> <Td> S. Rajendra Babu </Td> <Td> 000000002004 - 05 - 02 - 0000 2 May 2004 </Td> <Td> 000000002004 - 05 - 31 - 0000 31 May 2004 </Td> <Td> 29 </Td> <Td> Karnataka High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 35 </Td> <Td> Ramesh Chandra Lahoti </Td> <Td> 000000002004 - 06 - 01 - 0000 1 June 2004 </Td> <Td> 000000002005 - 10 - 31 - 0000 31 October 2005 </Td> <Td> 517 </Td> <Td> Madhya Pradesh High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 36 </Td> <Td> Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal </Td> <Td> 000000002005 - 11 - 01 - 0000 1 November 2005 </Td> <Td> 000000002007 - 01 - 13 - 0000 13 January 2007 </Td> <Td> 438 </Td> <Td> Delhi High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 37 </Td> <Td> K.G. Balakrishnan </Td> <Td> 000000002007 - 01 - 14 - 0000 14 January 2007 </Td> <Td> 000000002010 - 05 - 12 - 0000 12 May 2010 </Td> <Td> 1,214 </Td> <Td> Kerala High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 38 </Td> <Td> S.H. Kapadia </Td> <Td> 000000002010 - 05 - 12 - 0000 12 May 2010 </Td> <Td> 000000002012 - 09 - 28 - 0000 28 September 2012 </Td> <Td> 870 </Td> <Td> Bombay High Court </Td> <Td> Pratibha Patil </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 39 </Td> <Td> Altamas Kabir </Td> <Td> 000000002012 - 09 - 29 - 0000 29 September 2012 </Td> <Td> 000000002013 - 07 - 18 - 0000 18 July 2013 </Td> <Td> 292 </Td> <Td> Calcutta High Court </Td> <Td> Pranab Mukherjee </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 40 </Td> <Td> P. Sathasivam </Td> <Td> 000000002013 - 07 - 19 - 0000 19 July 2013 </Td> <Td> 000000002014 - 04 - 26 - 0000 26 April 2014 </Td> <Td> 281 </Td> <Td> Madras High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 41 </Td> <Td> Rajendra Mal Lodha </Td> <Td> 000000002014 - 04 - 27 - 0000 27 April 2014 </Td> <Td> 000000002014 - 09 - 27 - 0000 27 September 2014 </Td> <Td> 153 </Td> <Td> Rajasthan High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 42 </Td> <Td> H.L. Dattu </Td> <Td> 000000002014 - 09 - 28 - 0000 28 September 2014 </Td> <Td> 000000002015 - 12 - 02 - 0000 2 December 2015 </Td> <Td> 430 </Td> <Td> Karnataka High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 43 </Td> <Td> T.S. Thakur </Td> <Td> 000000002015 - 12 - 03 - 0000 3 December 2015 </Td> <Td> 000000002017 - 01 - 03 - 0000 3 January 2017 </Td> <Td> 397 </Td> <Td> Jammu and Kashmir High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 44 </Td> <Td> Jagdish Singh Khehar </Td> <Td> 000000002017 - 01 - 04 - 0000 4 January 2017 </Td> <Td> 000000002017 - 08 - 27 - 0000 27 August 2017 </Td> <Td> 236 </Td> <Td> Punjab and Haryana High Court </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 45 </Td> <Td> Dipak Misra </Td> <Td> 000000002017 - 08 - 28 - 0000 28 August 2017 </Td> <Td> Incumbent </Td> <Td> 43 </Td> <Td> Odisha High Court </Td> <Td> Ram Nath Kovind </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who was the first cheif justice of the supreme court