On his first working day, Justice Surya Kant introduced a rule requiring urgent listing requests to be submitted in writing, allowing oral mentions only in exceptional cases such as those involving liberty or the death penalty.
Justice Kant, sworn in earlier in the day, will serve as the 53rd Chief Justice until February 2027, succeeding a period where oral mentioning had recently been restored.
CJI Surya Kant Begins Tenure With New Rule Restricting Oral Mentions for Urgent Cases
The new CJI heard 17 matters, delivered his first judgment, and engaged with lawyers while urging junior advocates to argue instead of seeking adjournments.
Summary
On his first working day as Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant on Monday introduced a new procedural rule requiring that requests for urgent listing of cases be submitted in writing, while oral mentions will be allowed only under "extraordinary circumstances" such as matters involving personal liberty or death penalty. A bench headed by the new CJI heard 17 matters over a two-hour session.
Justice Kant assumed office as the 53rd Chief Justice shortly after taking oath in Hindi at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Upon arriving at the Supreme Court in the morning, he paid floral tributes at the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B. R. Ambedkar before taking his seat in the historic courtroom number one alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Atul S Chandurkar.
Proceedings began around noon with the CJI delivering a judgment in a matter involving Himachal Pradesh and a private firm.
Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association President Vipin Nair welcomed the new CJI, and a lawyer greeted him as "a farmer's son who has become the CJI", prompting a brief smile. Justice Kant replied, "Thank you. I can see young lawyers from Chandigarh also." He then set out the new procedure, stating that except in "extraordinary" situations, urgent listings must be sought through a written mentioning slip.
"If you have any urgent mentioning, give your mentioning slip along with the cause of urgency; the registrar will examine and in those matters, if we find an element of urgency, will take it up," he said.
When a counsel attempted to press the urgency of a matter, Justice Kant reiterated, "Unless there are extraordinary circumstances involved, when somebody's liberty is involved, there is a question of death sentence etc, then only will I list it. Otherwise, please make a mention... the registry will take a call and list the matter."
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Until now, the top court had reverted to oral mentioning under former CJI B. R. Gavai, after his predecessor Justice Sanjiv Khanna had halted the practice.
During the proceedings, Justice Kant encouraged a junior lawyer to argue instead of seeking an adjournment on behalf of a senior. "Take this opportunity, you should argue... If you argue, we may give a little discount," he remarked. The lawyer declined, citing lack of instructions.
In another case concerning alleged extrajudicial killings in Manipur, families of victims sought oversight of the investigation, asserting they "deserve to know at least what happened". Justice Kant noted an investigation was ongoing and issued notice "for the limited purpose of finding out the status of the investigation by the NIA".
The bench also heard an appeal against an Allahabad High Court order declining to remove a lawyer — who is the spouse of a judge — from the position of standing counsel to the Uttar Pradesh government. Cautioning against personal attacks, Justice Kant said, "There are some issues to be handled on the administrative side. Please do not name or target anyone." The appeal was later withdrawn.
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Justice Surya Kant was administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony attended by dignitaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former CJI B. R. Gavai. He will hold the post for nearly 15 months, demitting office on February 9, 2027, upon turning 65.
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