In a solemn ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today, Justice Surya Kant took the oath of office as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, administered by President Droupadi Murmu. The oath was delivered in Hindi, marking the beginning of his tenure which will run until February 9, 2027.
The occasion was attended by a distinguished gathering of national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Vice President C. V. Radhakrishnan, former Chief Justice B. R. Gavai, former President Ram Nath Kovind, and other prominent dignitaries including Hardeep Singh Puri, H. D. Kumaraswamy, Piyush Goyal, J. P. Nadda and Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Born on February 10, 1962 in the village of Petwar, Hisar district (Haryana), Justice Kant graduated with an LL.B. from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak in 1984 and began his legal practice at the District Courts in Hisar the same year. In 1985, he moved his practice to the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, where he specialised in constitutional, service and civil matters.
On July 7, 2000, he earned the distinction of becoming the youngest Advocate General of Haryana and was simultaneously designated a Senior Advocate. He served in that capacity until being appointed a permanent Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.
During his judicial tenure, he served on the governing body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) from 2007 to 2011, and in 2011 completed a Master’s degree in Law, earning First Class honours and standing First in his class. On October 5, 2018 he became Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court before his elevation to the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019. Since May 14, 2025, he has served as the Executive Chairman of NALSA, while also holding multiple committee roles at the Indian Law Institute.