Justice Surya Kant was sworn in on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, with President Droupadi Murmu administering the oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He takes over from Justice B.R. Gavai, who retired on Sunday.
Appointed under Article 124(2) of the Constitution on the recommendation of former CJI Gavai, Justice Kant now formally assumes leadership of the judiciary. Born on February 10, 1962, in Haryana, he began practising in Hisar in 1984 before moving to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he handled constitutional, civil and service matters and represented several public bodies. He became Haryana’s youngest Advocate General in 2000, was designated a senior advocate in 2001 and elevated to the High Court bench in 2004.
Justice Kant later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and joined the Supreme Court in May 2019. Since November 2024, he has chaired the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. Ahead of taking office, Justice Kant said clearing judicial backlogs would be his main priority. He plans consultations with High Courts to identify obstacles in the functioning of district and subordinate courts.
He also announced that Constitution Benches of five, seven and nine judges would be constituted “in the next few weeks” to hear pending constitutional cases. Justice Kant underscored the need to expand mediation and alternative dispute resolution, saying community mediation should be strengthened to help resolve inter-state disputes and matters involving the Centre.
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