Following Justice Surya Kanton's swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai created a new precedent by handing over his official Mercedes-Benz vehicle to his successor.
After attending Kant's swearing ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in his official vehicle, Justice Gavai—who retired on November 23—left for his home in his private vehicle.
"After the oath ceremony, Justice Gavai left the official vehicle designated for the chief justice and returned from Rashtrapati Bhavan in an alternative vehicle, ensuring that the official car is available for use by his successor for going to the Supreme Court," an official privy told PTI.

President Droupadi Murmu swore Justice Surya Kant in during a quick ceremony on Monday morning, making him the 53rd Chief Justice of India.
On October 30, Justice Kant was named the next Chief Justice, a position he will hold for over 15 months. When he turns 65 on February 9, 2027, he will leave office.
Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Chief Justice Gavai, and other dignitaries were present at the oath ceremony.
Justice Kant has been involved in a number of important constitutional decisions during his time on the Supreme Court, including as the Pegasus spyware case, the modification of Bihar's election rolls, and the repeal of Article 370.

Justice Surya Kant is who?
In the village of Petwar in Hisar, Haryana, Justice Surya Kant was born in 1962. Before earning his legal degree from Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak in 1984, he attended nearby country schools. In the same year, he started practicing law at the Hisar district court. Later, he moved to Chandigarh and established a successful practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he focused on civil, constitutional, and service law. He earned a first-class master's degree in law from Kurukshetra University thirty years later while he was a judge.

In 2000, at the age of 38, he became Haryana's youngest advocate general. The following year, he was named senior advocate, and in 2004, he was promoted to the position of judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Prior to his promotion to the Supreme Court in May 2019, he assumed leadership as chief judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in October 2018. Justice Kant has written more than 300 Supreme Court rulings in the last six years, including in a number of well-known constitutional cases. He served in the Constitution bench that upheld the repeal of Article 370, the bench that rendered the decision regarding Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, and the bench that gave former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal temporary bail while upholding the validity of his arrest.He most recently served on the bench that issued its decision in the presidential reference regarding the deadlines for the president and governors to sign state legislation.
In addition, he started the Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana 2025 to offer free legal aid to soldiers, veterans, and their families. He is the executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).