New Delhi, Nov 24 (UNI) Justice Surya Kant was today sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in a ceremony marked by global judicial participation, symbolism, and a distinctly Indian ethos.
Taking his oath in Hindi, Justice Kant signalled a clear shift toward deeper reliance on Indian jurisprudence and constitutional philosophy over colonial-era legal frameworks.
This approach has recently drawn praise from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who lauded both Justice Kant and his predecessor, Justice B.R. Gavai, for bringing a sense of “Indianness” to the judiciary by relying solely on Indian case law and principles.
Justice Kant assumes office just days after he, as part of the 16th Presidential Reference Bench, advised that neither the President nor State Governors are bound by timelines “imposed” by the Supreme Court when dealing with State Bills, an important observation in the context of the Court’s April 8 judgment in the Tamil Nadu Governor case.
In a gesture of camaraderie, outgoing CJI Justice Gavai ensured that the official vehicle was reserved for Justice Kant’s first journey to the Supreme Court as the new Chief Justice.
Born on 10 February 1962 in Hisar, Haryana, Justice Surya Kant’s life reflects a steady rise grounded in academic excellence and a deep commitment to constitutional values. After graduating from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar, and completing his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, he began his legal practice at the Hisar District Court before shifting to the Punjab & Haryana High Court in 1985.
Specialising in Constitutional, Civil, and Service law, he became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana in 2000, was designated Senior Advocate in 2001, elevated as Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in 2004, and later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. Justice Kant has played a key role in several landmark and sensitive decisions. He was part of the bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, ending the former State of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status, and was involved in striking down the Electoral Bonds Scheme.
He heard the Pegasus spyware case, famously observing that the State cannot get a free pass on national security, and was part of the court that placed the sedition law in abeyance. His benches have scrutinised missing voters in Bihar and revisited AMU’s minority status.
Justice Kant granted interim bail to Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri case with strict conditions, despite the High Court having denied relief. He also dealt with the sensitive issue of a senior judicial figure allegedly seeking a favourable ruling from a retired NCLAT member, a matter that will now come before him as CJI.
Questions remain on how he will address allegations of hate speech against Justice Shekhar Yadav and how effectively the Kant-led Collegium will move towards increasing women’s representation in the Supreme Court. Justice Kant has also taken a nuanced approach to controversial public expressions.
In the case involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, who sought protection from arrest over comments about parents, he clearly distinguished humour from impropriety. He similarly constituted a panel of senior IPS officers to evaluate the contentious social media posts of academician Ali Khan Mahmudabad concerning Operation Sindoor.
Beyond his courtroom work, Justice Kant has had a long-standing and influential association with NALSA. As Executive Chairman, he launched a landmark nationwide initiative providing legal aid and counselling to armed forces personnel and their families, strengthened Lok Adalats, expanded legal aid to rural and marginalised communities, pushed for technology-driven access to justice, and widened services for women, senior citizens, and undertrial prisoners.
His tenure at NALSA is widely regarded as people-centric and reformist. Since 2024, he has also served as Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. On the eve of taking charge, in an informal media interaction at his residence, Justice Kant described pendency as the most urgent concern, pointing to the nearly 90,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court and around 5 crore nationwide.
He emphasised that many matters in lower courts remain stuck because core legal questions await resolution by the Supreme Court. Calm and composed, he outlined his plan to constitute multiple seven-judge and nine-judge benches to identify and resolve such core cases, saying that judges decide on facts and law and are not influenced by social media commentary.
Justice Kant’s tenure is expected to focus on reducing pendency, strengthening constitutional benches, modernising courts through technology, enhancing legal aid mechanisms, ensuring gender-inclusive bar associations, and reinforcing the Indian character of the judiciary.
