Question

The senior most administrative officer of the Supreme Court is the

• A. Secretary General
• B. Chief Justice of India
• C. Senior most judge of the Supreme Court other than the Chief Justice of India
• D. Secretary, Department of Justice, Government of India

Hint:

The registry of the Supreme Court of India is headed by the Secretary General, who is appointed by the Chief Justice of India under Article 146 of the Constitution.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks us to identify the senior-most administrative officer of the Supreme Court of India.
We need to distinguish between judicial officers (like judges and the Chief Justice) and purely administrative/civil service officers.


Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

• The Chief Justice of India is the judicial head of the Supreme Court and the master of the roster, but they are a judicial officer rather than an administrative officer in the bureaucratic sense.

• The senior-most judges of the Supreme Court form the collegium and assist in judicial administration, but their primary role is judicial, making Options (B) and (C) incorrect.

• The Secretary of the Department of Justice is a senior bureaucrat in the Government of India (Executive), but they manage ministerial affairs related to the administration of justice across the country, not the internal administration of the Supreme Court registry itself, making Option (D) incorrect.

• The administrative wing of the Supreme Court is called the Registry.

• The head of this Registry is the "Secretary General" of the Supreme Court of India, who is a senior judicial officer of the rank of a District and Sessions Judge or equivalent, appointed by the Chief Justice under Article 146.

• The Secretary General is the senior-most administrative officer responsible for the smooth administrative functioning of the Supreme Court.



Step 3: Final Answer:
The senior-most administrative officer of the Supreme Court is the Secretary General, which is Option (A).