New Delhi, Nov 26: Justice Suryakant has taken oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI). He succeeds Justice B.R. Gavai, the senior Supreme Court judge who was serving as Chief Justice and whose term ended recently. Justice Suryakant assumed office today (Monday) and will serve as CJI for approximately 15 months. His tenure will end on 9th February 2027, when he reaches the age of 65 and retires.
The oath-taking ceremony was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath. The event was attended by Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, several central ministers, and other dignitaries. Outgoing Chief Justice B.R. Gavai was also present and formally handed over the responsibilities to Justice Suryakant.
Justice Suryakant was born on 10th February 1962 in a middle-class family in Hisar, Haryana. He began practicing law in the small town of Hisar and eventually rose to the Supreme Court. In 2011, he earned a master’s degree in law from Kurukshetra University. Before his elevation to the Supreme Court, he served as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from 5th October 2018. During his tenure as a judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he delivered several landmark judgments.
As a Supreme Court judge, he has given historic rulings on constitutional and national security matters, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, citizenship rights, freedom of speech, and electoral reforms. He was part of the bench that struck down colonial-era sedition laws. Justice Suryakant also directed the Election Commission to publicize the names of 6.5 lakh voters removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls post-census.
In matters of gender justice and grassroots democracy, he reinstated a woman sarpanch who had been unlawfully removed from office and issued directives to reserve one-third of bar association seats for women. He also directed that the Rank One Pension scheme for defense personnel be continued.
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