Justice Surya Kant, who was recommended on Monday as the next Chief Justice of India by CJI Bhushan R Gavai, is poised to make history as the first jurist from Haryana to assume the nation’s highest judicial office. His appointment, ahead of Justice Gavai’s retirement on November 23, will mark not just a transition in leadership at the Supreme Court, but also the quiet culmination of a remarkable judicial journey rooted in humility, conviction and poetry.
On the day he handed over a copy of the letter recommending Justice Kant’s name to the Union government, Chief Justice Gavai told Hindustan Times that his successor was “suited and competent in all aspects to take the helm,” adding that Justice Kant “will prove to be an asset to the institution as its head.”
Reflecting on their shared journeys, Justice Gavai said: “Like me, Justice Kant also belongs to the class in society that has seen struggles at every stage in life, which makes me confident that he would be best suited to understand the pain and sufferings of those who need the judiciary to protect their rights.”
Those who have known Justice Kant trace his story to the early 2000s when, at the age of 38, he became Haryana’s youngest Advocate General -- a role in which his skill and sincerity drew wide recognition. Barely four years later, in 2004, he was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, still in his early forties.
People close to Justice Kant describe him as someone who never set out to be a judge but was gently persuaded by destiny -- and by the earnest insistence of the then chief justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice AB Saharya, who saw in him the right blend of intellect and integrity. Barely in his forties at that time, serving as the Advocate General of his state and at the peak of his legal career in 2000, Justice Kant had reason to hesitate. He was immersed in an active legal practice and family life with two young daughters. The call to the Bench meant giving up a thriving practice and embracing an uncertain path, both professionally and financially.
{{/usCountry}}People close to Justice Kant describe him as someone who never set out to be a judge but was gently persuaded by destiny -- and by the earnest insistence of the then chief justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice AB Saharya, who saw in him the right blend of intellect and integrity. Barely in his forties at that time, serving as the Advocate General of his state and at the peak of his legal career in 2000, Justice Kant had reason to hesitate. He was immersed in an active legal practice and family life with two young daughters. The call to the Bench meant giving up a thriving practice and embracing an uncertain path, both professionally and financially.
{{/usCountry}}Yet, people familiar with the episode recall that a quiet sense of duty prevailed. When Justice Saharya told him that his elevation was the result of long deliberations and that the judiciary needed him to repay the institution that had shaped him, he was deeply moved. “He saw judgeship as a repayment of a moral debt to the system that had given him everything,” said a former colleague from his Bar days, adding that Justice Kant accepted the call with humility, seeing it as a moral duty rather than an ambition. And so began a journey that would take him from a promising lawyer to the 53rd CJI of India, set to assume office on November 24, after serving for 15 years as chief justice and judge in various high courts and over six years in the apex court.
Those who have worked alongside him recall how Justice Kant carried his sense of fairness as his most prized possession. “For him, the most fascinating transformation was the shift from advocacy to adjudication,” said a retired high court judge familiar with his work. “He would often reflect that while lawyers measure success in victories, judges measure it in fairness. Every decision, he believes, weaves into the moral fabric of society,” added this former judge, who did not wish to be named.
Over the years, Justice Kant’s administrative acumen became as acclaimed as his jurisprudence. As chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and in various national judicial initiatives, he often spoke of the need for a more uniform and efficient system, where all high courts move with the same rhythm, and district courts serve as the true measure of judicial health. Those who have seen him lead say he insists that the performance of a high court must be judged not merely by its own output but by the quality and timeliness of its district judiciary.
Behind the robe, though, is a man of simpler inclinations -- someone who finds solace in poetry and the land. Those close to him say that had he not pursued law, he would have chosen a life closer to nature, as a farmer and a part-time writer. Writing remains his quiet pursuit, often inspired by the struggles and dignity of everyday people. “He carries the farmer’s patience and the poet’s empathy into his judgments,” a close aide said. His close circle says he often muses that farming and writing are both acts of faith -- one with the earth, the other with the human spirit.
As Justice Kant prepares to step into the role of CJI, those who know him see in his story a blend of intellect and empathy, legal rigour and lyrical grace. He has been an advocate who argued with conviction, a judge who adjudicated with care, and perhaps, when the robes are finally folded away, he will return to the farmer-poet within.