A Reunion to Remember: Classmates Reconnect with Chief Justice Surya Kant

How a convocation in Bhiwani became a deeply personal homecoming for Haryana’s most distinguished son

Memorable Moments with Chief Justice Surya Kant — Dr. Raj Bahadur Yadav

After being sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India on November 24, 2025, Justice Surya Kant was invited to participate as the chief guest at the Alumni Meet-2025 of Government College, Hisar, scheduled for January 10, 2026. However, due to a pressing schedule, he had to cancel his visit at the last moment. We returned home that day feeling somewhat disappointed, yet a few of us remained hopeful of meeting him again in the near future.

Fortune smiled on us once more when, in the first week of April, we learnt that Justice Kant was scheduled to visit Chaudhary Bansi Lal University (CBLU), Bhiwani, on April 25 to address its convocation as chief guest.

Justice Kant happens to be the first person from Haryana to have reached the august office of Chief Justice of India, and he has consequently become a celebrated figure among intellectuals of humble origins across the towns and cities of the state. He holds a deep empathy for poor litigants who need justice the most. We all cherish memories of trusted friends and classmates — and Justice Kant is certainly one of them. Shakespeare puts it beautifully: “But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored and sorrows end.” (Sonnet 30, Lines 13–14)

Dr. Vivek Saini, the current Principal of Government College, Hisar, along with Dr. Surendra Kumar Kaushik and Dr. Pramod Malik of CBLU, facilitated our meeting with our distinguished classmate.

The tenacious and meticulous hosts at CBLU ensured that Justice Kant’s visit was both smooth and inspiring. I had dressed in spotless white, befitting the academic occasion. Seated in one of the VIP rows reserved for “Special Guests of Justice Kant,” we felt genuinely honoured. I was accompanied by two classmates — Jasbir Singh Bhayana and Giriraj Singh. I must say, honestly, that our only claim to a seat in that row was having once shared a college with Mr. Kant.

With quiet contentment on his face, the 92-year-old Prof. Gugan Ram Godara also walked in and gently settled into his seat. We approached him and touched his feet to seek his blessings. Soon after, Justice Kant appeared on the dais alongside Haryana Governor Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh, Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court Justice Sheel Nagu, Education Minister Mr. Mahipal Dhanda, and Vice-Chancellor Prof. Deepti Dharmani.

We rose to sing the national song, “Vande Mataram.” Justice Kant spoke warmly of Chaudhary Bansi Lal as the architect of modern Haryana. He exhorted students never to forget their roots, to pursue noble aims with focus and determination, and to look beyond their academic degrees towards a larger concern for those around them. Justice Kant was a highly acclaimed Hindi debater during his college days, so we were all the more delighted to hear him speak with remarkable fluency in English before a gathering of the literary and intellectual elite. He is a man whom God has liberally blessed with sterling qualities of both mind and heart.

Now, a glimpse of the memorable moments I spent with Justice Kant. After the convocation concluded with the national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana,” I met Justice Kant on the sidelines of the venue, greeted him warmly, and handed over to him the original copy of an editorial — now laminated, though yellowed with age — that he himself had authored nearly 45 years ago as student editor of our college magazine, Bhor Ka Tara (Morning Star). My name, too, finds mention in it. I also presented him with a copy of my book, Common People in Shakespeare’s Plays.

I could feel tears rushing to my eyes when I told him, “My children jump up with great joy whenever they see you speaking on our television channels!” We were all moved when Justice Kant bowed gracefully before our revered teacher, Prof. Godara, and honoured him during the lunch gathering — a gesture as memorable as it was heartfelt.

Time flies, yet such soul-stirring memories stay with us forever.

— Dr. Raj Bahadur Yadav Behind Kath Mandi, Kranti Nagar, Fatehabad, Haryana