The Union government notified on Thursday of the appointment of Justice Surya Kant as the next Chief Justice of India. The first from Haryana to occupy the country’s highest judicial office.
He will take oath on November 24, a day after incumbent CJI Bhushan R. Gavai demits office. Justice Kant will be the 53rd CJI and will have a tenure of about 14 months, retiring on February 9, 2027.
The notification comes two days after CJI Gavai initiated the appointment process by recommending Justice Kant, currently the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, to the government.
CJI Gavai described his successor as “suited and competent in all aspects to take the helm,” adding that Justice Kant’s life experience would enable him to “understand the pain and sufferings of those who most need the judiciary to protect their rights.”
Justice Surya Kant Background
Born on February 10, 1962, in Petwar village in the Narnaud region of Hisar, Justice Kant is the youngest of five siblings. His father was a Sanskrit teacher, and his mother was a homemaker.
He studied at local village schools, completed his graduation from Government Post Graduate College in Hisar in 1981, and obtained his LL.B from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984.
Decades later, while serving as a High Court judge, he secured an LL.M. from Kurukshetra University in 2011, earning First Class First a reflection of his sustained academic discipline and intellectual curiosity. Those who have known him recall his belief that learning is a continuous pursuit, not a milestone.
Justice Kant started his law practice in Hisar District Courts in 1984, moving to Chandigarh in the following year, where he developed a thriving practice before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
While specializing in constitutional, service, and civil law, he represented several universities, corporations, and public bodies with a reputation for meticulous case preparation.
Also Read: Jan Suraj Party Leader Dularchand Yadav Shot Dead During Election Campaign in Mokama
In July 2000, at the young age of 38, he was appointed Advocate General of Haryana and became the youngest to hold the state’s top law office. He was designated a senior advocate the following year.
His elevation as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court came about in January 2004. According to people close to the development, he did not ask for judgeship and demurred initially due to his lucrative practice and pressing family commitments.
It was only when then-high court chief justice AB Saharya persuaded him with the words that the judiciary needed him that he agreed. “He saw judgeship as a repayment of a moral debt to the institution that shaped him,” recalled a former colleague.
Important Judgments of Surya Kant Mishra
Justice Kant had delivered several important judgments while serving at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
These included declaring the right to conjugal visits of jail inmates as part of dignity and family life, ordering the sanitization of the Sirsa headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda following the 2017 violence that broke out after the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, and issuing a slew of monitored directions for concerted anti-drug operations across Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh.
In October 2018, he was appointed chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, where he was widely respected for his administrative clarity and openness to the Bar.
He consistently underlined the belief that the district judiciary is the true mirror of the justice system. Behind the judge, however, is a man of gentler pursuits. Friends speak of his affinity for poetry, nature, and the rhythms of rural life.
Also Read: What Does ‘67’ Mean? Gen Alpha’s Weird New Word of the Year Goes Viral
