Justice Surya Kant Appointed Next Chief Justice Of India, To Take Charge On November 24

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday appointed Justice Surya Kant as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, according to a notification issued by the Department of Justice under the Union Law Ministry. Justice Surya Kant will

succeed Justice Bhushan R Gavai, who is scheduled to retire on November 23. Justice Surya Kant will formally take oath on November 24 and will become the first top justice from Haryana.Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointment on X, posting, "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.” He extended his “heartiest congratulations and best wishes” to the incoming Chief Justice of India.

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… pic.twitter.com/3X0XFd1Uc9

— Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal) October 30, 2025

Justice Surya Kant, who was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, will serve a 14-month tenure before retiring on February 9, 2027. The retirement age for Supreme Court judges is 65 years.

Who Is Justice Surya Kant?

Born on 10th February, 1962 at Haryana's Hisar in a middle-class family, Justice Surya Kant graduated from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar in 1981. He has earned Bachelor’s degree in Law in 1984 from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak. He started practising Law at the District Court, Hisar in 1984 and then shifted to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Surya Kant has specialised in Constitutional, Service and Civil matters. Represented a number of Universities, Boards, Corporations, Banks and also the High Court itself. He earned distinction of being appointed the youngest Advocate General of Haryana on July 7, 2000. Justice Surya Kant was designated as a Senior Advocate in March 2001. He then held the office of Advocate General, Haryana, till his elevation as a permanent Judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 09, 2004. He was nominated as a Member of the Governing Body of National Legal Services Authority on February 23, 2007 for two consecutive terms till February 22, 2011. Presently a Member of various Committees of Indian Law Institute – a deemed university under the aegis of Supreme Court of India. He earned another distinction of standing First Class First in his Master’s degree in Law in 2011 from the Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. Has also organised and attended various prestigious National/International Conferences. Justice Surya Kant then assumed charge of the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh with effect from 05th October, 2018.