Gogoi followed the standard operating procedure followed by all outgoing Chief Justices to send the recommendation of their successor ahead of their retirement. Justice Bobde is second seniormost judge in the Supreme Court after CJI Ranjan Gogoi. Justice Gogoi has written a letter to the Ministry of Law and Justice recommending Justice Bobde to be the next chief justice.
Justice Gogoi, who was sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of India on October 3, 2018,is scheduled to vacate his office on November 17. The chief justice has gone by the convention to recommend the name of the next senior judge after him as his successor.
Justice Bobde is part of the five judge bench that is hearing the Ayodhya lawsuit over the disputed site of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid.
Justice Bobde is a former Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He is due to retire on 23 April 2021. Born on April 24, 1956, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Justice Bobde studied in the Nagpur University.
He joined the Bombay High Court in 2000 as an additional judge. In 2012, he became Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in April 2013.