Justice Surya Kant will take oath on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI), marking the beginning of his 14-month tenure in the country’s highest judicial office. He will succeed Justice B R Gavai, who demits office on Sunday evening.
Justice Surya Kant has been part of several landmark verdicts and orders on abrogation of Article 370 removing Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Bihar electoral rolls revision and Pegasus spyware case. Justice Kant was appointed as the next CJI on October 30 and will remain in the post for nearly 15 months. He will demit office on February 9, 2027 on attaining the age of 65 years.
President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office to Justice Kant, who succeeds incumbent CJI Bhushan R. Gavai. The President had earlier appointed Justice Surya Kant as the next Chief Justice of India “in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution”, following the recommendation of CJI Gavai. Justice Gavai upheld the convention of naming the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as his successor.
Justice Kant, who penned several notable judgments in the Punjab and Haryana HC, was appointed the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh HC on October 5, 2018.His tenure as an SC judge is marked by verdicts on the abrogation of Article 370, free speech and citizenship rights.The judge was part of the recent presidential reference on the powers of the Governor and President in dealing with bills passed by a state assembly. The verdict is keenly awaited with potential ramifications across states.
Justice Surya Kant, born on February 10, 1962, in a middle-class family in Haryana, began his legal journey in Hisar in 1984 before moving to Chandigarh to practise before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Over the years, he handled a broad spectrum of constitutional, service and civil matters, representing universities, boards, corporations, banks and even the High Court itself.
He was appointed the youngest Advocate General of Haryana in July 2000, designated a senior advocate in 2001, and elevated as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.He later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from October 2018 until his elevation to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.Since November 2024, he has been serving as Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee.
On Saturday, in an interaction with the media ahead of assuming charge, the CJI-designate said that reducing pendency in the Supreme Court and courts across the country would be his foremost priority.He said that one of his first steps as the Chief Justice of India would be to engage with all High Courts to identify problems affecting the functioning of district and subordinate courts.
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