Ex-CJI Gavai leaves official car for successor, goes home in personal vehicle after Surya Kant's oath ceremony

Ex-CJI Gavai leaves official car for successor Surya Kant at Rashtrapati Bhavan

As former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai passed the baton to Justice Surya Kanton Monday, he set a new precedent by leaving his official Mercedes-Benz car for his successor at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after the latter's swearing-in ceremony.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant with former CJI BR Gavai during his swearing-in ceremony as the 53rd CJI, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday,(PTI)

Justice Gavai, who retired on November 23, arrived for Kant's oath ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in his official car, but left for his residence in his personal vehicle after the function was over.

“After the oath ceremony, Justice Gavai left the official vehicle designated for the chief justice and returned in an alternative vehicle from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, ensuring that the official car is available for use by his successor for going to the Supreme Court,” PTI quoted an official privy to the development as saying.

Justice Surya Kant became the the 53rd Chief Justice of India after he was administered oath by President Droupadi Murmu at a brief ceremony on Monday morning.

Justice Kant was appointed the next CJI on October 30, and will remain in the post for nearly 15 months. He will demit office on February 9, 2027, on attaining the age of 65.

The oath ceremony was attended by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former CJI Gavai and other dignitaries.

Over his tenure in the Supreme Court, Justice Kant has been associated with a series of significant constitutional rulings, including those on the abrogation of Article 370, the revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls and the Pegasus spyware case.

Who is Justice Surya Kant?

Justice Surya Kant was born in 1962, in Petwar village of Haryana's Hisar. He studied at local village schools before graduating in law from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984. He began his legal practice at the Hisar district court the same year and later shifted to Chandigarh, where he built a thriving practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, specialising in constitutional, service and civil law. Three decades later, while serving as a judge, he obtained a master’s degree in law from Kurukshetra University with first-class first.

At 38, he became the youngest advocate general of Haryana in 2000, was designated a senior advocate the following year, and was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2004. In October 2018, he took charge as chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court before his elevation to the Supreme Court in May 2019.

Over the past six years in the Supreme Court, Justice Kant has authored more than 300 judgments, including in several high-profile constitutional matters. He was part of the Constitution bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, the bench that delivered the verdict on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, and the bench that granted interim bail to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal while affirming the legality of his arrest. Most recently, he was also part of the bench that delivered its ruling in the presidential reference on setting timelines for assent to state bills by governors and President.

He is also the executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and launched the Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana 2025 to provide free legal assistance to soldiers, veterans and their families.

(With inputs from agencies)