New Delhi [India], November 24 (ANI): Justice Surya Kant took oath on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice B.R. Gavai and beginning a tenure of nearly 15 months.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Surya Kant at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar, Haryana, he began his legal practice in the Hisar district court in 1984 before moving to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Specialising in constitutional, service, and civil matters, he represented several universities, boards, corporations, banks, and even the High Court itself. He became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana on July 7, 2000, and was designated a Senior Advocate in March 2001. He served as Advocate General until his elevation as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.
Fifteen years later, on May 24, 2019, Justice Surya Kant was elevated to the Supreme Court. He has served two terms on the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority and is currently a member of several committees at the Indian Law Institute, a deemed university under the Supreme Court’s aegis.
He graduated from Government Post Graduate College in 1981 and earned his Bachelor of Laws in 1984 from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak.
Justice Surya Kant has identified reducing the massive pendency of cases across the country as a key priority. Speaking to legal journalists at his official residence ahead of assuming charge, he stressed the importance of addressing arrears at both individual court levels and on a pan-India scale.
He described mediation as a “game changer” capable of providing faster, off-court dispute resolution. One of the major challenges, he noted, is the overlapping of matters, with thousands of cases kept in abeyance pending decisions from larger benches. This delay affects High Courts and District Courts as well, with multiple legal questions remaining unresolved. He emphasized that once these complexities are addressed, further progress can follow.
The oath-taking ceremony saw the largest foreign delegation ever to attend the swearing-in of an Indian Chief Justice. Dignitaries from Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Kenya, and Sri Lanka were present.
Attendees included Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice P. Padman Surasena and Supreme Court Justice S. Thurairaja; Nepal’s Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut, Supreme Court Judge Sapana Pradhan Malla, and Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anil Kumar Sinha; Mauritius Chief Justice Bibi Rehana Mungly-Gulbul and her daughter Rebecca Hanna Bibi Gulbul; Malaysia’s Federal Court Judge Tan Sri Datuk Nalini Pathmanathan; Kenya’s Chief Justice and Supreme Court President Martha Koome; and Bhutan’s Chief Justice Lyonpo Norbu Tshering.
Justice Surya Kant is set to serve until his retirement on February 9, 2027. (ANI)
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