New Delhi, Nov 23 (NationPress) Justice Surya Kant is set to take his oath on Monday, officially becoming the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI). This event signifies the start of his 14-month tenure in the nation's apex judicial role.

President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office to Justice Kant, who succeeds the current CJI Bhushan R. Gavai. The President appointed Justice Surya Kant as the next CJI based on the powers granted by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution, following the recommendation from CJI Gavai.

Justice Gavai, who will vacate his position as CJI on Sunday upon reaching the age of 65, maintained the tradition of selecting the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as his successor.

Justice Surya Kant, born on February 10, 1962, in a modest family in Haryana, embarked on his legal career in Hisar in 1984 before relocating to Chandigarh to practice before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Throughout his career, he has dealt with a wide array of constitutional, service, and civil matters, representing universities, boards, corporations, banks, and even the High Court itself.

He became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana in July 2000, was designated a senior advocate in 2001, and was appointed as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.

Justice Kant later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from October 2018 until his elevation to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.

Since November 2024, he has been the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee.

In a media interaction on Saturday, prior to assuming his role, the CJI-designate stated that addressing the backlog of cases in the Supreme Court and other courts nationwide would be his top priority.

One of his initial actions as Chief Justice of India will be to collaborate with all High Courts to pinpoint issues impacting the functionality of district and subordinate courts.

He also announced the formation of Constitution Benches comprising five, seven, and nine judges that will convene in the coming weeks to deliberate on significant pending matters.

Highlighting the importance of enhancing alternative dispute resolution methods, Justice Surya Kant remarked, “Mediation will be effectively implemented to alleviate the burden of millions of cases.” He stressed the need for community mediation to mitigate disputes, especially among state governments and between the Centre and the states.

“A supportive environment must be established for this,” he emphasized.

When questioned about the potential use of AI to tackle the case backlog, Justice Surya Kant acknowledged the various challenges involved. “While it has its benefits, there are also concerns. It can assist in procedural matters, but individuals prefer their cases to be adjudicated by a judge,” he noted.

Official data as of July 21 from the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) reveals that Indian courts are grappling with an overwhelming total of 5.29 crore pending cases. Of these, 4.65 crore cases await resolution in district and subordinate courts, 63.30 lakh in High Courts, and 86,742 in the Supreme Court.