Gurugram: On his first visit to his home district Hansi in Haryana, memories of his childhood and adolescent years made Chief Justice of India Surya Kant nostalgic.
Addressing members of the Hansi Bar Association after his arrival, the CJI took a walk down memory lane and reminisced about seeing his first movie at Hansi, where his father, then a school teacher, worked.
“The first film I ever watched was in Hansi. Not secretly, but my father took me there on his bicycle. Whenever I pass through Hansi, memories of my childhood come rushing back. I couldn’t study here regularly, but I did attend school here for a few months,” CJI Surya Kant told the audience.
Regaling them with tales from the start of his career, he said, “After completing my studies in 1984, the very next day, my family told me to start practising. I began going to court from 21 April 1984, though I received my licence as an advocate on 29 July. I was completely new to the profession and left Hisar for Chandigarh with just two pairs of clothes. I received the blessings of senior lawyers. A lawyer took me to Chandigarh in his car. At the High Court, I became a junior to a lawyer.”
He exhorted the young lawyers listening to him to accept challenges in life, to learn how to survive, saying that to make a place in the profession they had chosen, they would have to become either experts or all-rounders.
“My advice is that lawyers at the sub-division and district levels should accept modern-day challenges. You need to transform your work according to modern-day practice. I want you to accept modern challenges just like lawyers in big cities. You must make advances in line with technology. For this, organise training programmes. You must become lawyers who can stand your ground in front of those from Delhi, Mumbai, or elsewhere,” he added.
CJI Kant embarked on a two-day visit to Hansi and Hisar Friday, marking his first trip to his home district since assuming the country’s top judicial office in November last year.
On the first day of his visit, he lay foundation stones for sub-divisional judicial complexes at Narnaund and Barwala.
On Saturday, he will be visiting his native village, Petwar, where he will be felicitated by the villagers in the traditional manner. Petwar, earlier a part of Hisar, became a part of Hansi when it was declared to be the state’s 23rd district in December 2025.
He will also inaugurate new chambers for lawyers and a multilevel parking facility at the Bar Association in Hisar. Later in the evening, he will attend a state dinner in Hisar organised by the state government. The dinner will be attended by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, and other judges.
First from Haryana to hold top post
Justice Kant’s elevation as the 53rd Chief Justice of India in November last year was widely celebrated in Haryana, him being the first person from the state to hold the country’s highest judicial office.
His legal career began at the Hisar District Court in 1984 before he shifted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh the following year. He specialised in constitutional, service and civil matters, representing universities, boards, corporations and banks.
At the age of 38, he became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana on 7 July, 2000. He was designated a Senior Advocate in March 2001, and served as Advocate General until his elevation as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9 January, 2004.
Justice Kant served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from October 2018 to May 2019 before his elevation to the Supreme Court on 24 May 2019.
(Edited by Niyati Kothiyal)
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