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From a village in Hisar to India’s highest bench: Justice Surya Kant nominated as next CJI
Justice Surya Kant is expected to assume office as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on November 24. If appointed, he will be the first person from Haryana to occupy the country’s top judicial post.
Born on February 10, 1962, in a small village in Hisar district, Justice Surya Kant’s rise — from village schooling to the Supreme Court — is notable for its steady progression through Haryana’s legal ecosystem.
Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Monday recommended Justice Surya Kant — the senior-most judge after him — to the Centre as his successor. CJI Gavai’s term ends on November 23, and once the Law Ministry approves the recommendation, Justice Surya Kant is expected to assume office as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on November 24. If appointed, he will be the first person from Haryana to occupy the country’s top judicial post.
Born on February 10, 1962, in a small village in Hisar district, Justice Surya Kant’s rise — from village schooling to the Supreme Court — is notable for its steady progression through Haryana’s legal ecosystem. He hails from a middle-class family; his father was a teacher. After early education in his village, Justice Kant completed his law degree from Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in 1984 and began practising at the district court in Hisar. He later shifted to Chandigarh to practise at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
At age 38, Justice Kant became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana, an early milestone in a career that would see rapid elevation. He was made a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2004, where he served for more than 14 years. While serving on the High Court bench, he continued his academic pursuits and completed a Master’s in Law from Kurukshetra University in 2011, standing first class first in his postgraduate examination.
Justice Kant was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on October 5, 2018, and was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. His tenure on the top court — covering more than 300 benches since his elevation — has been marked by a string of high-profile and constitutionally significant judgments and orders across criminal, constitutional and administrative law. His expected tenure as CJI would run until his retirement on February 9, 2027, giving him roughly 14–15 months in office.
Key highlights of Justice Surya Kant’s judicial record (as reflected in his Supreme Court and earlier High Court work) include:
Article 370 (2023): He was part of the five-judge constitution bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370.
Sedition law (2022): He sat on the bench that directed the government to temporarily refrain from using the colonial-era sedition law and to keep pending trials, appeals and proceedings on hold until a review.
Pegasus / spyware (2021 onward): He was on the bench that appointed a three-member panel of cyber experts to examine alleged use of the Israeli Pegasus spyware, underlining that national security cannot be a blanket bar to judicial scrutiny.
Electoral roll / Bihar (2024): Hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of rolls in Bihar, he nudged the poll body to disclose details of 65 lakh voters excluded from draft rolls.
Presidential reference on powers of governor/president: He was part of the bench hearing a presidential reference on the scope of gubernatorial and presidential powers concerning state bills; that verdict is keenly watched for its implications across states.
Gender justice and grassroots democracy: He led a bench that reinstated a woman sarpanch unlawfully removed from office and highlighted gender bias; he has also directed that one-third of seats in bar associations (including the Supreme Court Bar Association) be reserved for women.
Online content and free speech: His benches have cautioned that freedom of speech is not absolute, pulling up podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and several stand-up comedians (including Samay Raina) for derogatory or mocking content and asking the Centre to draft guidelines for online content regulation.
Accountability and corruption: In a 2023 verdict he called corruption a “serious societal threat” and ordered the CBI to probe 28 cases exposing an alleged nexus between banks and developers that defrauded homebuyers.
High-profile criminal and administrative matters: He led the bench that granted bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the CBI’s excise policy case, and has repeatedly emphasised proper conduct and accountability by investigating agencies.
Service and defence matters: He upheld the One Rank-One Pension scheme as constitutionally valid and continues to hear petitions concerning parity and permanent commission for women officers in the armed forces.
Infrastructure vs environment: He upheld the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand, stressing strategic and security considerations while balancing environmental concerns.
Privacy and forensic safeguards: He has warned courts to be “mindful of collateral privacy infringements” when ordering DNA tests in paternity disputes.
Social welfare and labour protection: He flagged the absence of a legal framework for domestic workers and directed the Centre to form an expert committee to propose protections for this vulnerable workforce.
Landmark institutional and historical rulings: He was part of the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 AMU verdict, opening the door for reassessment of the university’s minority status.
Security inquiry: He was on the bench that appointed a five-member committee headed by former Justice Indu Malhotra to probe a security breach during the Prime Minister’s Punjab visit in 2022, observing that such matters require “a judicially trained mind”.
Justice Kant’s adjudicatory style has frequently been described as measured and balanced, marked by an insistence on institutional accountability (whether from investigatory agencies, administrative authorities or statutory bodies) and attention to rights and procedural safeguards. He has been visibly concerned with both major constitutional questions and practical remedies — from electoral transparency and gender justice to the legal recognition of labour rights and safeguards for privacy.
For Haryana, Justice Kant’s elevation to the apex judicial office is a first: no judge from the state has previously become Chief Justice of India. His story—rooted in rural Hisar, education at MDU and Kurukshetra University, practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, service as Haryana’s Advocate General, and years on the bench—will be seen locally as an emblem of professional mobility through merit.
As Justice Kant prepares to take the oath, he will inherit the administrative burden of the Supreme Court, including addressing a backlog of roughly 90,000 cases. How his administrative priorities will balance case disposal, judicial reforms and the court’s broader constitutional role will be watched closely by lawyers, litigants and state governments alike.
The formal appointment requires the Centre’s concurrence after CJI Gavai’s recommendation. If cleared, Justice Surya Kant’s elevation will not only complete a conventional seniority succession but will also bring a jurist with deep ties to Haryana and a record of decisions touching on a wide range of national issues to the helm of India’s judiciary.
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