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New Delhi, Nov 23 (PMINEWS): Justice Surya Kant—widely recognised for his contributions to several major constitutional rulings, including the abrogation of Article 370, the Bihar electoral rolls revision, and the Pegasus spyware case—will be sworn in on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI). He takes over from Justice B.R. Gavai, who retires this evening.
Justice Kant was appointed the next CJI on October 30 and will hold office for nearly 15 months, demitting office on February 9, 2027, upon reaching the retirement age of 65.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Haryana’s Hisar district, Justice Kant rose from practising as a small-town lawyer to occupying the country’s highest judicial position. An exceptional academic, he secured the top rank in his Master’s degree in Law from Kurukshetra University in 2011.
He delivered several influential judgments during his tenure at the Punjab and Haryana High Court and later served as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from October 5, 2018. At the Supreme Court, he has been part of key verdicts concerning free speech, citizenship, democratic processes, and gender justice.
Justice Kant was on the constitution bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance, directing that no new FIRs be registered until the government completes its review. He also asked the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls while reviewing the Special Intensive Revision in the election-bound state.
He led a bench that reinstated a wrongfully removed woman sarpanch, strongly condemning gender bias, and also directed that one-third of seats in all bar associations—including the Supreme Court Bar Association—be reserved for women.
Justice Kant was part of the bench that appointed a committee led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2022 visit to Punjab. He also upheld the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme for defence personnel and continues to hear cases involving permanent commission for women officers in the armed forces.
He was on the seven-judge bench that overturned the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University judgment, reopening the question of the university’s minority status. In the Pegasus spyware case, he was part of the bench that appointed a panel of cyber experts to investigate alleged unlawful surveillance, famously declaring that the state cannot claim a “free pass under the guise of national security.”
Justice Surya Kant assumes office at a crucial juncture as the Supreme Court continues to hear several significant constitutional matters. (pressmediaofinddia.com)
