Bar and Bench must be co-participants in justice delivery system: CJI Surya Kant

The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) on Thursday felicitated Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, on his appointment as the country's top most judge.

The felicitation function was organised by the lawyers' body in the lobby of Main Court Building of the High Court.

CJI Kant during his felicitation said that the bar and bench must act as co-participants in the justice delivery system. "The Bar must extend beyond the articulation of grievances to proactive engagement. It is here that I call upon the members of the Bar to engage wholeheartedly in the administration side of justice by offering practical suggestions, volunteering new systems and participating in consultative processes to ensure that reforms are not only well-intended, but are workable also," CJI Kant said.

CJI also praised the DHCBA for its collaborative ethos and commended its contribution to the growth of arbitration and mediation.

During the event, DHCBA president and Senior Advocate N Hariharan raised institutional concern over inadequate physical infrastructure and “diminishing elevation” of lawyers from the Delhi High Court as judges. “Despite 47,000 advocates, only three have been elevated as judges since August 2024,” Senior Advocate Hariharan said.

On November 24, 2025 Justice Surya Kant was sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Chief Justices and senior judges from Bhutan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, and Sri Lanka attended the event. On October 30, the President of India had appointed Justice Surya Kant, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 24th November, 2025

Justice Surya Kant was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 24th May, 2019 and is also, Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, w.e.f., 12th November, 2024. He is due to retire on 9th February, 2027. Justice Kant was appointed a permanent Judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004. The next CJI to be graduated from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar in 1981 and got a bachelor’s degree in law in 1984 from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak. He then started practicing Law at the District Court, Hisar in 1984. Later he shifted to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.