Justice Surya Kant was sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India At Rashtrapati Bhavan today by President of India Droupadi Murmu. CJI Surya Kant, who succeeded CJI BR Gavai, inherits a backlog of cases across the judiciary, vacancies across constitutional courts and tribunals and has the task of restoring credibility for the institution that has seen much criticism in the past few years.
During his 15-month tenure, CJI Kant will have to tackle a backlog of cases in the Supreme Court (90,427) and find a solution for the mounting pendency in the lower judiciary (District Judiciary – 4.77 crore cases; High Courts – 63.8 lakh cases). Before his retirement in February 2027, CJI Kant will have to oversee the appointment of SC judges (five more judges will retire in 2026), 297 existing vacancies in high courts, plus those who retire in the coming year, and look into the appointment of Chief Justices across as many as 15 high courts. Though, SC does not oversee appointments of district court judges, CJI Kant will also have to figure out a plan with the high court collegium to fill vacancies.
Small-town lawyer to top judge
Justice Surya Kant hails from a modest family in Petwar, a village in Haryana’s Hisar district. CJI Kant’s father was a Sanskrit teacher and his mother a homemaker. A first-generation lawyer, CJI Kant completed his schooling in the local school and pursued his degree in law at Maharishi Dayanand University.
CJI Kant began his career as a lawyer in Hisar before establishing himself at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. At 48 years of age, CJI Kant became the youngest advocate to be appointed as an Advocate General of Haryana and was appointed as a judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 2004 when he was 42. In May 2019, CJI Kant was appointed as the Chief Justice at Himachal Pradesh High Court and in May 2019, CJI Kant was elevated to the top court along with his predecessor CJI BR Gavai.
CJI Kant is the first Haryanvi to become the Chief Justice of India.
Plans to Tackle Pendency
Before being sworn in as the top judge, CJI Kant spoke to the media at an informal gathering at his official residence where he outlined his plan to tackle arrears in cases. CJI Kant said he planned to reduce pendency by ensuring “optimal utilisation of judges.”
Apart from that, the new top judge said he was going to notify Constitution Benches to tackle cases which in turn have a bearing on connected and “overlapping” matters that run into thousands across all judicial fora. Oldest cases and those that have the maximum impact on society will be given preference, he said.
CJI Kant said he would also moot mediation, which according to him, is a “game changer.” Calling it the “need of the hour,” CJI Kant said mediation is an end-all solution that would tackle most woes, CJI Kant said. Mediation is picking up momentum with banks, private companies and multi-national corporations seeking help to train their employees so that they may try to settle matters in-house before opting for judicial recourse, the top judge said.
CJI Kant also expressed hope to persuade the government and its agencies to contemplate mediation as an option considering it is the largest litigant.
AI in the judiciary and “unsocial” media
During the informal interaction, CJI Kant said he would take a holistic view about the use of Artificial Intelligence in the judiciary. CJI Kant accepted it is a “grey area”, and that one would need to determine the boundaries of how much AI is required in the judicial process. “After all, when the public comes to court, they want a judge to hear their matters,” CJI Kant said.
CJI Kant said he is unperturbed by social media and the trolling that ensues when decisions on important matters are announced. “I don’t think a judge or the CJI comes under pressure from social media... or what I jokingly call ‘unsocial media’. I never carry the burden of such people. Just ignore them and focus on your work,” he added.
Restoration of judicial credibility
The credibility of the judiciary has been questioned since the past few years. The contentious relationship between the courts and the government on various issues including judicial appointments, verdicts on sensitive and political cases along and the recent scandals involving corruption in the judiciary has tarnished its image.
During his tenure, CJI Kant will have to work to restore his credibility.
The Supreme Court under CJI Kant’s leadership will consider Lokpal’s recent ruling where the anti-corruption ombudsman ruled that High Court judges fall under their jurisdiction. Though the top court stayed this order, the ruling raises questions of law and judicial accountability and independence.
Notable cases
During his career, CJI Kant has been part of several notable cases and has given judgments of importance. CJI Kant was part of Constitution Benches on the issues of Abrogation of Article 370, validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, and minority status of Aligarh Muslim University – where he dissented, Presidential Reference concerning the powers of the Governor and the President. CJI Kant was part of benches that gave bail to ex-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and restricted Ranveer
CJI Kant leads the bench that is hearing the challenge to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls will hear the review of its verdict in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case which upheld the investigative powers of the Enforcement Directorate and bail conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Justice Kant was on the Division Bench which granted bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy corruption case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justice Kant authored a separate opinion upholding Kejriwal’s arrest, holding that CBI followed due procedure for his arrest while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
He was on the Division Bench where he observed that comments made on the show India’s Got Latent “disgusting,” “filthy,” and “insulting,” while asserting that freedom of speech comes with a duty to society. CJI Kant also issued notice to the Centre while observing the need for guidelines to regulate online content. He suggested the judiciary would step in if the government failed to act.
What lies ahead
In the next 15 months, CJI Kant will have to decide on several issues of critical importance. CJI Kant took suo motu note of digital arrests and has mooted a CBI probe for all cases registered in India.
Apart from the ongoing matter surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) – which will have a bearing on the upcoming state assembly elections, CJI Kant has a full plate.
Challenges to Anti-conversion law, constitutionality of section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (sedition)—he was also part of the bench which held the colonial-era law in abeyance—criminalisation of triple talaq, places of worship act, restitution of conjugal rights, criminalization of marital rape and the key Sabarimala Constitution Bench matter which will decide on the issue of fundamental rights versus personal rights.