Justice Surya Kant was sworn in on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath. The event was attended by top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan, reflecting the significance of the transition at the country’s highest court.
Born in a small village in Haryana’s Hisar district, Surya Kant’s journey from a local lawyer to the country’s top judge is marked by steady hard work and a reputation for fairness. After completing his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University in 1984, he began practising in the Hisar district courts, eventually rising to become Haryana’s youngest Advocate General in 2000.
He went on to serve as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2004, later became Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018, and joined the Supreme Court in 2019. Over the years, he has authored and contributed to more than 300 judgments, many dealing with constitutional issues and public interest matters. He was part of benches that heard key cases such as the Article 370 challenge and the Pegasus spyware allegations.
After taking charge, Justice Kant acknowledged the challenges ahead, most importantly, the heavy backlog of nearly 90,000 cases. He stressed the need to reduce delays, revive the importance of high courts, and expand the use of technology and mediation to make justice faster and more accessible for ordinary citizens.
With a tenure lasting till February 2027, Justice Surya Kant is expected to lead a crucial phase for the judiciary, one that balances tradition with urgent reforms and aims to make the Supreme Court more responsive to people’s needs.
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