New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Monday, October 27, formally recommended Justice Surya Kant as his successor, setting stage for the senior Supreme Court judge to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India upon Gavai's retirement on November 23.
Kant, who was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2019, will serve as CJI until February 2027, giving him one of the longer tenures than others in the recent years.
(R) CJI BR Gavai with Justice Surya Kant (L) | (Photo Courtesy: X/@lawvertical)
Who Is Justice Surya Kant?
Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar's Petwar village in Haryana, Kant comes from a middle-class family. He completed his early education in Hisar, graduating from the Government Post Graduate college in 1981, before earning a Bachelor's degree in Law from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984. He later pursued a Master of Laws degree from Kurukshetra University, where he secured First Class First in 2011.
Kant began his legal practice in 1984 at the Hisar District Court and moved to the Punjab and Haryana High Court a year later. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in March 2001 and went on to serve as Advocate General of Haryana until his elevation as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.
He took oath as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on October 5, 2018, and was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, following a recommendation by a collegium headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi. Justice Kant has also served as a member of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) for two consecutive terms from February 2007, contributing to access-to-justice initiatives and legal aid reforms.
His Notable Works
Kant's judicial career has been marked by a focus on human rights, gender justice and prison reforms. Among his widely noted rulings is the Jasvir Singh judgment, delivered during his tenure at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he directed the State of Punjab to create a Jail Reforms Committee to formulate a policy on conjugal and family visits for inmates.
Kant has also presided over several high-profile cases that drew public attention, including the India’s Got Latent controversy involving podcaster Ranveer Allahabadia and comedian Samay Raina.
Apart from his judicial work, Kant has delivered several public lectures on reforming the criminal justice system. In a 2022 lecture at Himachal Pradesh National Law University, he spoke about the social consequences of incarceration and referenced Justice VR Krishna Iyer’s concept of “break-up and weekend prisons” to reduce the long-term impact of imprisonment on families.
