Uday Umesh Lalit was sworn in as Chief Justice of India's Supreme Court on Saturday, though he has only 74 days to serve before retiring in November, Reuters reported.

According to the Indian constitution, judges of the Supreme Court must retire at the age of 65. The chief justice is appointed by the president in accordance with the length of service. Earlier this month, Lalita's predecessor Chief Justice N.V. Ramana said 65 was "too early for retirement" for the judge.

The National Judicial Data Network estimates that there are about 45 million cases pending in Indian courts. The slow processing of cases is mainly due to the shortage of judges: about 5,000 vacancies in the lower courts and 400 vacancies for judges of the higher courts.