On 25 September 2024, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was sworn in as the 28th Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Before his appointment as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court by President Draoupadi Murmu, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was a judge of the Delhi High Court.

He replaced the acting Chief Justice, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva..

Who administered the Oath to Justice Suresh Kumar Kait?

Under Article 219 of the Constitution, every person appointed as a judge of the High Court has to take an oath, as mentioned in the Third Schedule of the Constitution.

The oath is administered by the Governor of the state or a person appointed by the Governor.

The Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mangubhai Patel, administered the oath of office to Justice Suresh Kumar Kait at the Raj Niwas in Bhopal.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and several other ministers, senior judges of the High Court and district courts, and some prominent lawyers were also present during the oath-taking ceremony.

First Dalit Chief Justice of M P High Court

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait is the first Dalit to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Justice Kait is a native of Haryana. On September 5, 2008, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court. Later, in 2013, he was appointed as the Permanent Judge. He was transferred to the High Court of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on April 12, 2016, and again to the Delhi High Court by the President in 2018.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait is expected to retire on 23 May 2025, when he will be 62.

The retirement age of a High Court Judge is 62, and that of a Supreme Court Judge is 65.

About Madhya Pradesh High Court

After the creation of the present state of Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956 under the State Reorganisation Act 1956, Nagpur High Court was made the High Court of the State.

A temporary bench of the Nagpur High Court was set up at Indore and Gwalior.

Later, in 1968, Indore and Gwalior were made the permanent benches of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

After the formation of Chhattisgarh on 1 November 2000, Jabalpur became the permanent seat of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The High Court’s division benches are at Gwalior and Indore.

The total sanctioned strength of the High Court Judges, including the Chief Justice, is 53.

First Chief Justice: Justice M.Hidayatullah