Step 1: Understand the role of the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The CJI is the head of the judiciary of India and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India. They are appointed by the President of India.
Step 2: List the recent Chief Justices in chronological order.
To accurately identify the 48th CJI, it's helpful to know the sequence of the last few office holders.
46th CJI: Ranjan Gogoi
47th CJI: Sharad Arvind Bobde
48th CJI: N. V. Ramana (served from April 2021 to August 2022)
49th CJI: Uday Umesh Lalit
50th CJI: D. Y. Chandrachud
From this sequence, it is clear that N. V. Ramana was the 48th Chief Justice of India.