India's New Supreme Court Chief Justice Vows to Tackle Backlog, Boost Mediation
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India's incoming Chief Justice Surya Kant has identified tackling the Supreme Court's massive backlog of nearly 90,000 pending cases as his top priority. He also plans to promote mediation as a game-changing solution to reduce the court's workload. Justice Kant, set to take office on November 24, expressed his commitment to addressing the backlog by assigning cases to benches and prioritizing older matters. He emphasized the importance of approaching lower courts first and reviving healthy court practices. In an interview, Justice Kant highlighted the need to encourage government agencies to adopt mediation, citing its potential to significantly reduce the number of pending cases. He also stressed the importance of judicial consistency, discipline, and efficiency, stating that reform is an ongoing process. A career spanning over four decades has shaped Justice Kant's judicial philosophy. Born in a small village in Hisar, he rose through the ranks from practicing law in local courts to becoming a high court judge. He later earned an LLM degree from Kurukshetra University while serving as a high court judge. Justice Kant's journey includes serving as the advocate general of Haryana at 38, becoming a senior advocate, and later a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He has authored over 300 judgments and served on several landmark benches. Currently, he serves as the executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and has launched an initiative to provide free legal assistance to soldiers and their families.
