CJI recommends Justice Kant as next CJI; hands him copy of letter in gathering of SC judges

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice Bhushan Ramakant Gavai on Monday wrote to the Union govt recommending appointment of Justice Surya Kant, the most senior Supreme Court Judge, as his successor and 53rd CJI. CJI Gavai will retire on Nov 23.

In a gathering of SC judges in the morning prior to commencement of judicial work after a week-long Diwali break, CJI Gavai handed over a copy of the recommendation letter to Justice Kant, who is scheduled to be sworn in as CJI by the President on Nov 24 at Rashtrapati Bhawan. In the letter. CJI Gavai said, “Justice Surya Kant is eminently suitable for appointment as CJI”.

Justice Kant will have tenure of over one year and two months and will be the first one from Haryana to head the Supreme Court in its 75-year-old history. Grinded in the rusticity of village and life of agriculturists, Justice Kant brings with him a refreshing view about the justice delivery system that focuses on giving priority to cases relating to downtrodden and commoners.

Justice Kant graduated from Govt Post Graduate College, Hisar in 1981 and got his LLB degree in 1984 from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak. He started practicing Law at the District Court, Hisar in 1984 but a year later shifted to Chandigarh to practice in the Punjab and Haryana HC.

The HC provided him the platform to display the wide-range litigation he could handle and display legal acumen. He was appointed advocate general of Haryana in July 2000 at a young age of 38 years. He was designated as senior advocate in 2001.

He was appointed as a judge of Punjab and Haryana HC in Jan 2004. While being a HC judge, Justice Kant earned the distinction of getting ‘First Class First’ in his master’s degree in law in 2011 from the Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. He was appointed a judge of the SC on May 24, 2019.
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