Centre Starts Process to Appoint Justice Surya Kant as Next CJI

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday initiated the process of appointing the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) as the incumbent, Justice B.R. Gavai, is set to demit office on November 23. Justice Surya Kant, the seniormost judge after CJI Gavai, is next in line to head the Supreme Court.

According to the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), the document that governs the appointment, transfer, and elevation of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts, the position of the Chief Justice of India should go to the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court deemed fit to hold the office.

As per procedure, the Union law minister “at the appropriate time” seeks the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice for the appointment of his successor.

Sources said that the law minister’s letter asking CJI Gavai to name his successor has been sent to him. Traditionally, this letter is issued a month before the incumbent CJI retires on attaining the age of 65 years.

Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar district, Haryana, Justice Surya Kant was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. Once appointed, he will serve as CJI for nearly 15 months, until his retirement on February 9, 2027.

Justice Surya Kant brings to the post over two decades of judicial experience, marked by landmark verdicts on issues such as the abrogation of Article 370, free speech, democracy, corruption, environmental protection, and gender equality.

He was part of the historic bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance, directing that no new FIRs be registered under it until the government completed its review.

In another significant ruling, he directed the Election Commission of India to disclose details of 65 lakh excluded voters in Bihar after the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral list, reinforcing his commitment to electoral transparency.

An advocate of gender inclusivity, Justice Surya Kant directed that one-third of seats in bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, be reserved for women.

He was also on the bench that appointed a five-member committee headed by Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2022 visit to Punjab, observing that such cases required “a judicially trained mind.”

Justice Surya Kant upheld the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for defence personnel as constitutionally valid and continues to hear petitions filed by women officers in the armed forces seeking parity in permanent commissions.

He was part of the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University judgment, paving the way for a reconsideration of the institution’s minority status.

Justice Surya Kant was also on the bench that heard the Pegasus spyware case, which appointed a panel of cyber experts to investigate allegations of unlawful surveillance, stating that “the state cannot get a free pass under the guise of national security.”