Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai has formally proposed the name of Justice Surya Kant, the second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, to succeed him as the next Chief Justice of India. The recommendation has been sent to the Union Law Ministry, in accordance with the established procedure for appointing the CJI.
The recommendation marks the beginning of the official process for appointing the 53rd Chief Justice of India. Under the Memorandum of Procedure, the Law Ministry seeks the outgoing Chief Justice’s suggestion for his successor about a month before the retirement date. CJI Gavai, who will demit office on 23 November 2025, responded to this request by endorsing Justice Surya Kant’s name. Upon the Union Government’s approval, Justice Surya Kant will assume charge as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on 24 November 2025. He is expected to have a comparatively long tenure, serving until 9 February 2027.
Hailing from the modest village of Petwar in Haryana's Hisar district, Justice Surya Kant embodies the quintessential rise through merit in India's legal landscape. Born on February 10, 1962, into a middle-class family, he completed his early education at a local government college in Hisar before earning his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak in 1984. Launching his career as an advocate in the Punjab and Haryana High Court just a year later, he quickly established himself as a formidable litigator specialising in civil, constitutional, and service matters. He made history as Haryana’s youngest Advocate General, appointed on 7 July 2000. In March 2001, he was designated as a Senior Advocate. Elevated to the high court bench in 2004 after nearly two decades at the bar, Justice Kant's judicial acumen shone through in his elevation to the Supreme Court in February 2021. Known for his pragmatic approach and emphasis on "human enterprise" in justice delivery, he has also chaired the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), championing access to justice for the marginalised.
Throughout his illustrious career, Justice Kant has left an indelible mark on several high-profile cases that have shaped contemporary jurisprudence. In the groundbreaking “S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India” (2024), he contributed to the bench that struck down the electoral bonds scheme, reinforcing transparency in political funding as a cornerstone of democratic accountability. His incisive opinion in “Union of India v. Tarsem Singh” (2025) advanced prison reforms by mandating humane treatment and rehabilitation for undertrials, addressing systemic overcrowding and delays in trials.
Earlier, in a poignant 2021 ruling, he upheld the death penalty in a heinous case of child rape and murder, balancing retribution with procedural fairness in a divided verdict. On arbitration frontiers, his involvement in “NN Global Mercantile (P) Ltd. v. Indo Unique Flame Ltd.” clarified the enforceability of unstamped agreements, streamlining commercial dispute resolution.
More recently, in October 2025, Justice Kant led a bench scrutinising the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, where he directed the production of affidavits from affected voters and demanded granular data on the deletion of over 3.66 lakh names from electoral rolls, a move hailed for safeguarding voting rights amid allegations of arbitrary exclusions.
