New Delhi, Oct. 24 -- The Union law ministry on Friday requested Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai to recommend the name of his successor, initiating the formal process for appointing the next head of the Indian judiciary ahead of Justice Gavai's retirement on November 23. Justice Surya Kant, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, is in line to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice Gavai. He is likely to assume office on November 24 and will have a tenure of about 14 months, retiring on February 9, 2027. As a matter of long-standing convention, the law ministry writes to the CJI nearly a month before his retirement, seeking the name of his successor. The incumbent CJI then formally recommends the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, "considered fit to hold the office", roughly 30 days before demitting office. This practice originates from the Second Judges Case (1993), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the appointment to the office of CJI should be of the most senior judge of the court "considered fit to hold the office." The subsequent Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointments to the higher judiciary incorporated this convention. Once CJI Gavai makes his recommendation, the government is expected to issue a formal notification appointing Justice Kant as the next CJI. As the designated successor, Justice Kant will begin participating in key administrative decisions alongside the incumbent. Born in the modest town of Hisar, Haryana, on February 10, 1962, Justice Surya Kant's journey from the dusty courts of Hisar to the apex of India's judiciary is one marked by quiet grit, intellect and humility. His rise embodies the arc of a self-made jurist who combined legal scholarship with an unwavering sense of fairness and social conscience. Justice Kant completed his schooling in Hisar and graduated from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar, in 1981. He obtained his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984 and went on to complete his LL.M. from Kurukshetra University in 2011, securing First Class First -- an academic feat achieved while he was already an established judge. Justice Kant began his legal practice at the Hisar District Court in 1984 before moving to Chandigarh the following year, where he built a robust practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Specialising in constitutional, civil and service law, he appeared for universities, corporations and boards, and quickly earned a reputation for his meticulous preparation and sharp advocacy. In July 2000, at just 38, he was appointed Advocate General of Haryana -- the youngest to hold that office in the state's history. A year later, in March 2001, he was designated a senior advocate, recognition of his standing at the Bar. Justice Kant's transition to the Bench came in January 2004, when he was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He went on to serve as the chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in October 2018, where he was widely admired for his administrative acumen and accessibility to the Bar. In May 2019, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India, alongside Justice Gavai. Over the past six years, Justice Kant has authored over 300 judgments, many of them on complex constitutional, criminal and administrative issues....