India, March 6 -- The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended the appointment of Calcutta high court's justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court. If approved by the government, justice Bagchi is set to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2031, albeit for a little over four months, before retiring on October 2, 2031.

The collegium, comprising CJI Sanjiv Khanna and justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, made this recommendation during its meeting on Thursday. With a sanctioned strength of 34, the Supreme Court is currently short of two judges.

The collegium, while evaluating eligible chief justices and senior puisne judges of high courts, considered justice Bagchi's merit, integ...