New Delhi: Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is understood to have asked Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to name his successor, setting in motion the process of appointing the country's next topmost judge.

Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the Supreme Court's second senior-most judge, is most likely to succeed Justice Misra, who demits office on October 2.

Sources said Justice Misra had received the minister's letter sent on Monday but was yet to respond. According to the memorandum of procedure that governs appointments of Supreme Court and high court judges, the process of appointing the new CJI starts about a month or 45 days in advance. The law ministry seeks the views of the outgoing CJI during this period.

By convention, the second senior-most judge is appointed the CJI unless exceptional circumstances call for a departure from tradition.

"Whenever there is any doubt about the fitness of the senior most judge to hold the office of the Chief Justice of India, consultation with other judges would be made for appointment of the next Chief Justice of India," the memorandum says. The convention has been breached only twice - the first time in 1973 when Justice A.N. Ray superseded three senior judges to be appointed the CJI by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1977, Justice M.H. Beg superseded Justice H.R. Khanna to be appointed the top judge.