Surya Kant to be next CJI, will assume office on November 24

Surya Kant has been appointed the next chief justice of India, the Union law ministry said on Thursday.

Kant, the second-most senior judge of the Supreme Court, will assume office on November 24. He will succeed Chief Justice BR Gavai who will retire on November 23.

The Constitution grants the president the power to appoint judges in the Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, Gavai wrote to the ministry proposing Kant as his successor. The letter was part of the convention on the appointment of the top court’s chief justices.

Kant, who will become the 53rd chief justice of the Supreme Court, will have a tenure of 14 months before he retires in February 2027.

Kant started practicing law at the district court in Hisar, Haryana in 1984 before working at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He specialised in constitutional, service and civil matters.

In 2000, he became the youngest advocate general of Haryana, a position he held until he became a judge in the High Court in 2004.

Kant became the chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018 before being elevated as a Supreme Court judge in May 2019.

He has been the chairperson of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee since November 2024.
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