New Delhi: Justice Surya Kant was sworn in on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India at a ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, senior government officials, judges of the Supreme Court and members of the legal fraternity.
Justice Kant, born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar, Haryana, will serve as Chief Justice of India until February 9, 2027. He completed his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak before beginning his legal practice in Hisar in 1984. He moved to the Punjab and Haryana High Court a year later, where he built a prominent legal career. In 2000, he became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Advocate General of Haryana.
Justice Kant was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2004. Over the years, he authored several notable judgments and handled a wide range of constitutional, criminal and civil matters. In 2018, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and, in May 2019, was elevated to the Supreme Court of India.
During his tenure in the apex court, Justice Kant has been part of several significant benches. He was on the bench that suspended the colonial-era sedition law and one that examined allegations related to the Pegasus spyware. He also heard matters concerning exclusions in the Bihar voter list, delivered rulings on gender rights in panchayat reservation systems and authored key observations in the One Rank One Pension case.
His elevation follows the recommendation of outgoing Chief Justice B R Gavai, adhering to the established convention of seniority in the appointment of the Chief Justice of India.
