Justice Surya Kant was sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) today at Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office. Justice Kant succeeds Justice B.R. Gavai, who retired yesterday.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by prominent figures including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and Union Ministers such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and J.P. Nadda. Former President Ram Nath Kovind, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and other dignitaries were also present. Justice Kant took the oath in Hindi, pledging to uphold the Constitution and faithfully discharge his duties.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar, Haryana, Justice Surya Kant brings a wealth of experience to the role of CJI. He obtained his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984 and began his legal practice the same year in the District Courts of Hisar. In 1985, he moved to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh, specializing in constitutional, service, and civil matters. Justice Kant was appointed the youngest Advocate General of Haryana in 2000 and was designated as a Senior Advocate. He served as Advocate General until being appointed a permanent Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004. He also served on the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) from 2007 to 2011. In 2011, he earned a Master's degree in Law. Before being elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, he served as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from October 5, 2018. Since May 14, 2025, he has been the Executive Chairman of NALSA.
Justice Kant's tenure as CJI is expected to last until February 9, 2027, when he reaches the age of 65. This relatively long tenure provides an extended period to address critical constitutional and social issues. It is anticipated that he will focus on reducing the backlog of pending cases in the Indian judicial system.
Justice Kant has been involved in several significant verdicts and interventions throughout his career. He was part of the Supreme Court bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, kept the sedition law in abeyance by directing that no new FIRs be filed, and oversaw the presidential reference on the powers of Governors and the President regarding state bills. He also directed the Election Commission to disclose the names of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar's draft rolls and reinstated a woman sarpanch who was unlawfully removed, highlighting gender bias. Furthermore, he directed that one-third of seats in bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, be reserved for women. Justice Kant was also on the bench that appointed a committee led by Justice Indu Malhotra to investigate the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2022 Punjab visit. He upheld the One Rank-One Pension scheme and continues to hear cases filed by women officers seeking parity in permanent commission. He was also part of the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 AMU judgment and served on the bench handling the Pegasus spyware case.
