President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Justice Surya Kant as India’s 53rd Chief Justice. He will assume office on November 24, 2025. Justice Kant succeeds Chief Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, who retires on November 23. The appointment marks a historic milestone, as Justice Kant becomes the first jurist from Haryana to hold the nation’s highest judicial position.
From Village Roots to Judicial Summit
Born on February 10, 1962, Justice Kant hails from Petwar village in Hisar district. His father taught Sanskrit while his mother was a homemaker. He, the youngest of five siblings studied in a village school without benches until Class VIII. He graduated from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984 and earned a Master’s in Law from Kurukshetra University.
His legal career began at Hisar District Courts in 1984. At age 38, Justice Kant became Haryana’s youngest Advocate General on July 7, 2000. He was designated Senior Advocate in March 2001. He joined the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004. The Supreme Court elevated him on May 24, 2019. He became Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court before his Supreme Court appointment.
Justice Kant participated in the five-judge bench upholding Article 370’s abrogation. His bench kept the sedition law in abeyance, barring new FIRs. He championed prison reforms during his High Court tenure. Punjab became the first Indian state to allow conjugal visits for jail inmates in 2014.
Justice Kant overruled the 1967 Azeez Basha judgment on Aligarh Muslim University’s minority status. The seven-judge bench established new criteria for determining minority institutions. He directed one-third seat reservation for women in bar associations. The Supreme Court Bar Association implemented the directive from 2024 elections.
His bench struck down the electoral bonds scheme, protecting citizens’ right to information. Justice Kant appointed an expert committee investigating Pegasus spyware allegations. He granted bail to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, remarking that agencies must dispel the “caged parrot” notion. He upheld the One Rank-One Pension scheme for defence forces.
Steering India’s Judiciary Forward
Justice Kant authored the Jitendra Singh judgment on water bodies. Schemes extinguishing local water bodies violate Article 21, his verdict held. He upheld the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand while mandating environmental safeguards. His 2023 verdict ordered CBI probes into 28 bank fraud cases.
Justice Kant’s judicial philosophy centers on accessibility. “Justice is not locked away in legal commentaries,” he has said. “It is a sleeping force which judges must breathe life into and awaken”. He emphasizes continuous evolution. “The pursuit of justice is a continuous journey,” Justice Kant remarked at the National Conference on District Judiciary. Collaboration across all judiciary levels remains essential.
He inherits a massive pendency crisis. Nearly 85,000 cases await decisions in the Supreme Court. Lower courts face a backlog of approximately 4.7 crore cases. Over 61 percent of High Court cases remain pending for more than three years. High Courts operate with a 33 percent vacancy rates. District Courts face 21 percent vacancies.
Chief Justice Gavai recommended Justice Kant as his successor on October 27. He described Justice Kant as “suited and competent in all aspects to take the helm”. Justice Kant’s life experience would help him “understand the pain and sufferings of those who most need the judiciary”.
Justice Kant brings four decades of legal experience to the office. His tenure promises continued commitment to justice. “Together, we will continue to endeavor towards a judiciary that serves with excellence and integrity,” Justice Kant has affirmed. On November 24, a new chapter begins. India’s judiciary stands ready under Justice Surya Kant’s leadership.
Stay tuned with The World Times as Justice Surya Kant takes the helm.
