New Delhi: Justice Surya Kant took oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) this morning. He succeeds Justice B.R. Gavai, who retired yesterday.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Justice Kant at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Justice Kant was appointed as the next CJI on Oct. 30 and will remain in the post for nearly 15 months. He will demit office on Feb. 9, 2027 on attaining the age of 65 years. Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the senior leaders who attended the ceremony.
Born on Feb.10, 1962 at Hisar (Haryana) in a middle class family, Justice Surya Kant graduated from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar in 1981. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Law in 1984 from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak he started practicing at the District Court, Hisar in 1984. Later, Justice Kant shifted to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Specialised in Constitutional, Service and Civil matters, he represented a number of Universities, Boards, Corporations, Banks and also the High Court itself. Justice Kant earned distinction of being appointed the youngest Advocate General of Haryana on July 7, 2000. Designated as Senior Advocate in March, 2001, he held the office of Advocate General, Haryana till his elevation as a permanent Judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Jan. 9, 2004. He was nominated as a Member of the Governing Body of National Legal Services Authority on Feb. 23, 2007 for two consecutive terms till Feb. 22, 2011.
Presently, he is a member of various Committees of Indian Law Institute — a deemed University under the aegis of Supreme Court of India. Justice Kant earned another distinction of standing First Class First in his Master’s degree in Law in 2011 from the Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. He has also organised and attended various prestigious National and International Conferences. He assumed charge of the office of the Chief Justice of High Court of Himachal Pradesh from Oct. 5, 2018 and was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019. He is also the Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee from Nov. 12, 2024.
This post was published on November 24, 2025 6:35 pm