Justice Surya Kant takes oath as 53rd Chief Justice of India, prioritises judicial discipline

Justice Surya Kant was sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on Monday, taking oath from President Droupadi Murmu in the presence of the prime minister, vice-president and senior ministers. His appointment marks a remarkable journey from a farming village in Haryana to leading the nation’s highest court.

A Supreme Court judge since 2019, Justice Kant has been part of several landmark rulings, including the upholding of Article 370’s abrogation, the Section 6A Citizenship Act judgment, the Pegasus matter and the ruling on timelines for gubernatorial assent to state bills. Over six years, he has authored more than 300 judgments spanning constitutional, civil and service law.

Ahead of taking charge, Justice Kant identified the nearly 90,000 pending cases in the Supreme Court as his key challenge. He emphasised optimum utilisation of judicial strength, speedy listing of long-pending matters and reviving healthy practices of approaching lower courts first. He also stressed the need to streamline case management, adopt technology and ensure punctuality and institutional discipline across the judiciary.

Justice Kant described his judicial philosophy as rooted in “farmer’s patience and poet’s empathy,” shaped by his childhood in Haryana. He said justice must be both legally sound and humane, adding that mediation will be a central part of his reform agenda to reduce the burden on courts and encourage quicker dispute resolution.