Goa, Nov. 24 -- Justice Surya Kant will be sworn in on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, officially beginning his 14-month tenure at the helm of the nation's judiciary. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Justice Kant succeeds Chief Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, who retired on Sunday after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65. In keeping with established practice, CJI Gavai recommended the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as his successor, following which the President appointed Justice Kant under Article 124(2) of the Constitution.

Born on February 10, 1962, in a middle-class family in Haryana, Justice Surya Kant began his legal career in Hisar in 1984. He later shifted h...