Who is Justice Surya Kant? Meet the 53rd Chief Justice of India Appointed by President Murmu News24 –
Justice Surya Kant has been formally appointed as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Droupadi Murmu. The announcement was made by Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, on Thursday, who stated that the President of India has exercised her constitutional powers to appoint Justice Kant as the CJI with effect from November 24, 2025. As the 53rd CJI, Justice Kant will have a tenure till February 9, 2027.
Meghwal wrote on X, “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Surya Kant, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 24th November, 2025. I convey my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to him.”
Who Is Justice Surya Kant?
Born on February 10, 1962, in Petwar village in Hisar district of Haryana to a middle-class family, Justice Surya Kant earned his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984 and began his practice at the District Courts, Hisar, in July 1984. In 1985, he shifted his practice to Punjab and Haryana High Court. Thereafter, Justice Kant was regarded as an Eminent Service, Constitutional and Civil lawyer. Kant earned distinction of being appointed the youngest Advocate General of Haryana on July 7, 2000. He was then designated a as Senior Advocate in March, 2001.
He served as the Advocate General of Haryana until his elevation as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004. He also served two consecutive terms (2007–2011) as a Member of the National Legal Services Authority and remains actively associated with various national and international NGOs and legal organizations. He specialises in Constitutional, Service, and Civil matters, and has represented numerous universities, boards, corporations, banks, as well as the High Court itself.
He is currently a member of various committees of the Indian Law Institute, a deemed university functioning under the aegis of the Supreme Court of India. In 2011, he earned the distinction of securing First Class First in his Master’s degree in Law from the Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. He has also organised and participated in several prestigious national and international conferences. Justice Kant assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on October 5, 2018. He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019.
On November 12, 2024, he was appointed as the Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. Justice Kant is due to retire on February 9, 2027.