Chief Justice of India-designate Justice Surya Kant, who will assume office on Monday, has said he intends to prioritise reducing judicial pendency while steering the judiciary toward a more distinctly Indian, “Swadeshi” legal framework. Speaking during an informal interaction with journalists on Saturday, Justice Surya Kant stressed the importance of developing a homegrown jurisprudence rather than relying heavily on foreign judgments and legal doctrines. He questioned why, even after 75 years of the Supreme Court shaping legal principles, Indian courts continue to depend on rulings from other jurisdictions. This, he said, underscores the need to emphasise Swadeshi jurisprudence—a view also expressed earlier by outgoing Chief Justice BR Gavai.
Responding to a question from India Today regarding the several foreign judges and chief justices expected to attend his swearing-in ceremony, Justice Surya Kant explained that India’s judiciary commands significant respect globally and is often cited in judicial forums abroad. He said India’s engagement with foreign legal systems is grounded in mutual respect and productive exchange, not dependency. His oath-taking comes just two days before Constitution Day, during which visiting judges from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Kenya, and other nations will participate in celebrations and judicial conferences.
Justice Surya Kant also recalled a recent official visit to Kenya with Justice Gavai, during which Kenyan authorities expressed interest in developing their own judicial academy. Discussions included the possibility of training Kenyan judicial officers at India’s national and regional judicial academies—an example of India’s growing role in international judicial capacity-building.
In his interaction with reporters, the Chief Justice-designate highlighted additional areas of planned cooperation with global counterparts, including technological upgrades for courts, expanding legal aid services, and strengthening alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation.
Focusing on domestic priorities, Justice Surya Kant said his 17-month tenure will centre on reducing the massive backlog of cases in the Supreme Court as well as in High Courts and trial courts. He pointed out that several thousand cases in lower courts remain unresolved because they hinge on legal questions awaiting decisions from the Constitution Benches of the Supreme Court. He has already requested data and analytical reports from High Courts to understand the reasons behind prolonged pendency across the judicial system.
Referring to recent progress, Justice Surya Kant noted that a three-judge Supreme Court bench had delivered a verdict that resulted in the disposal of more than 500 pending cases. He is now reviewing which of those cases involve large batches of petitions or have implications for matters stalled in lower courts. During his tenure as Chief Justice, long-pending Constitution Bench cases—particularly those requiring seven-judge and nine-judge benches—are expected to receive priority hearings as part of his broader effort to streamline judicial functioning and clear accumulated arrears.
