With less than a month remaining before his retirement on November 23, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Monday initiated the process of appointing his successor by recommending Justice Surya Kant, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after him, to the Central government.
If approved, Justice Kant will become the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) and assume office upon Justice Gavai’s demitting charge on November 23. He will have a tenure of over one year and two months, serving as CJI until February 9, 2027.
As per convention, CJI Gavai handed over his letter of recommendation to Justice Kant on Monday. The recommendation follows a communication from the Law Ministry on October 23, requesting the outgoing Chief Justice to name his successor.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar district, Haryana, into a middle-class family, Justice Kant completed his graduation from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar, in 1981 and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Law in 1984 from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.
He began his legal practice at the District Court, Hisar, in 1984 and moved to Chandigarh the following year to practise before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Over the years, he developed expertise in constitutional, service, and civil law, and represented several universities, boards, corporations, banks, and even the High Court itself.
Justice Kant made history in July 2000 when he was appointed Advocate General of Haryana, becoming the youngest lawyer to hold the post. In March 2001, he was designated a Senior Advocate and continued as Advocate General until his elevation as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.
He served as a member of the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) from February 2007 to February 2011 and has been associated with several committees of the Indian Law Institute, a deemed university under the Supreme Court’s aegis.
In 2011, he earned an LLM degree with First Class First distinction from the Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, and has participated in numerous national and international conferences on law and justice.
Justice Kant took charge as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on October 5, 2018, and was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. He currently chairs the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, a position he has held since November 2024.