In a landmark appointment, the Union government on Thursday notified Justice Surya Kant as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, marking the first time a jurist from Haryana will lead the nation’s apex court. The 63-year-old senior-most judge will take oath on November 24, a day after CJI Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai retires, and will serve until his retirement on February 9, 2027. CJI Gavai, who initiated the recommendation process two days prior, praised his successor as “suited and competent in all aspects,” highlighting Justice Kant’s empathy for the marginalized and his deep understanding of societal struggles.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Petwar village, Hisar, Justice Kant rose from humble roots—son of a Sanskrit teacher and homemaker—to legal eminence through relentless discipline. After graduating from Hisar’s Government Post Graduate College in 1981 and earning his LL.B from Maharshi Dayanand University in 1984, he began practice at Hisar District Court before shifting to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. At 38, he became Haryana’s youngest Advocate General in 2000, designated Senior Advocate in 2001, and was elevated as a High Court judge in 2004 after initial reluctance, accepting the role as a “moral debt” to the judiciary.
His judicial career is studded with path-breaking verdicts. At the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he recognized conjugal visits for prisoners as a right to dignity, ordered sanitization of Dera Sacha Sauda post-2017 violence, and spearheaded coordinated anti-drug measures across three states. As Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018, he championed district judiciary reforms. Elevated to the Supreme Court in 2019, he has authored over 300 judgments, including key roles in the Article 370 abrogation, AMU minority status (dissenting opinion), Arvind Kejriwal bail, and the upcoming PMLA review.
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Beyond the bench, Justice Kant’s tenure as NALSA Executive Chairman saw the launch of *Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana 2025*, offering free legal aid to armed forces personnel and families. Known for poetry, nature, and consensus-building, he steps into the CJI role amid demands for judicial transparency, digitization, and infrastructure upgrades. His 14-month leadership is poised to shape constitutional jurisprudence while strengthening access to justice at the grassroots.
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