With just a month remaining before Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai’s retirement, the Centre has begun the process to appoint his successor. Sources said the government has formally written to CJI Gavai, who is set to retire on November 23 upon turning 65, asking him to recommend the next Chief Justice.As per the Memorandum of Procedure governing the appointment and transfer of judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, found fit for the position, is appointed as the CJI.CJI Gavai is expected to recommend Justice Surya Kant, the senior-most Supreme Court judge, as his successor. Once appointed, Justice Kant will become the 53rd Chief Justice of India on November 24 and will serve until February 9, 2027.Justice Surya Kant: A ProfileBorn on February 10, 1962, in Hisar district of Haryana, Justice Surya Kant hails from a middle-class family. He earned his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984, and became Haryana’s youngest Advocate General on July 7, 2000, at the age of 38.He was appointed as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 2004 and later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from October 5, 2018. Justice Kant was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.A Distinguished Judicial CareerJustice Kant has contributed to several landmark rulings over his two decades on the Bench, covering issues such as the abrogation of Article 370, free speech, democracy, corruption, environment, and gender equality.He was part of the Bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance pending government review, and the seven-judge Bench that restored minority status to Aligarh Muslim University.Justice Kant has also led several notable benches:Directed the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh excluded voters in Bihar.Ordered that one-third of seats in Bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, be reserved for women.Heard petitions on the farmers’ blockade at the Shambhu border near Ambala.Headed the bench that appointed a committee led by former Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra to investigate the 2022 security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Punjab visit.Upheld the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme for defence personnel as constitutionally valid.Was part of the Pegasus spyware case bench, which ruled that the state cannot claim a “free pass” under the guise of national security.Tradition and ExceptionsThe longstanding convention is for the outgoing CJI to recommend the senior-most Supreme Court judge as the next Chief Justice — a tradition broken only twice in history: in 1973, when Justice A.N. Ray superseded three senior judges, and in 1977, when Justice M.H. Beg was appointed over Justice H.R. Khanna.Justice Surya Kant’s elevation would mark the continuation of this established convention
