Justice Surya Kant to Assume Office as 53rd Chief Justice of India on Monday

New Delhi: Justice Surya Kant will take charge as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Monday. The oath of office will be administered by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 a.m.

Justice Surya Kant has been part of several landmark judgements and orders, including the ruling on the abrogation of Article 370, the Bihar voters’ list revision case, and matters related to the Pegasus spyware controversy. His tenure as Chief Justice will continue until February 9, 2027.

Justice Surya Kant will be the first person from Haryana to become the Chief Justice of India. He became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana at the age of 38 and was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at 42. He served as a High Court judge for over 14 years.

In October 2018, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and on May 24, 2019, he was elevated to the Supreme Court.

The incumbent Chief Justice, Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, will retire on Sunday. He received a formal farewell on Friday, his last working day. Appointed on May 14 as the 52nd Chief Justice of India, he served in the position for nearly six months.

Justice Gavai is the second CJI from the Dalit community after K.G. Balakrishnan, and the first Chief Justice of India to come from the Buddhist faith.