The Crossbill News Desk
Justice Surya Kant formally assumed charge as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on Monday after being administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The oath was taken in Hindi. Justice Kant succeeds Justice B.R. Gavai and will serve a tenure of nearly 15 months before demitting office on February 9, 2027, a day before he turns 65.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar, Haryana, Justice Kant comes from a middle-class family. He completed his graduation from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar, in 1981 and earned his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984.
He began his legal career that same year in the Hisar district court before shifting to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In 2000, he became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana. He later pursued a master's degree in law from Kurukshetra University, securing first-class first in 2011.
Justice Kant was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018 and elevated to the Supreme Court the following year. During his tenure at the apex court, he has contributed to several significant rulings, including the recent presidential reference clarifying the powers of governors and the president regarding bills passed by state legislatures.
He was also on the bench that put the colonial-era sedition law on hold and directed authorities not to invoke it until a government review was completed.
In another notable intervention, he urged the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls during a legal challenge to the Special Intensive Revision of the voters list ahead of the state elections. Justice Kant also headed a bench that reinstated a woman sarpanch who had been improperly removed from office and called out the gender bias involved. He later issued directions mandating one-third reservation for women in bar association committees, including the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Justice Kant also served on the bench that constituted a five-member committee led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra to investigate the 2022 security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, observing that such matters required “a judicially trained mind”.
He upheld the One Rank-One Pension policy for the armed forces and continues to hear cases related to permanent commission for women officers in the military.
Among other notable rulings, he was part of the seven-judge bench that overturned the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University ruling, paving the way for reconsideration of the university’s minority status.
He also served on the Pegasus spyware case bench, which appointed a panel of cyber experts to investigate allegations of illegal surveillance, remarking that the state cannot be given a “free pass under the guise of national security.”
The oath was taken in Hindi. Justice Kant succeeds Justice B.R. Gavai and will serve a tenure of nearly 15 months before demitting office on February 9, 2027, a day before he turns 65.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar, Haryana, Justice Kant comes from a middle-class family. He completed his graduation from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar, in 1981 and earned his law degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984.
He began his legal career that same year in the Hisar district court before shifting to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In 2000, he became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana. He later pursued a master's degree in law from Kurukshetra University, securing first-class first in 2011.
Justice Kant was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018 and elevated to the Supreme Court the following year. During his tenure at the apex court, he has contributed to several significant rulings, including the recent presidential reference clarifying the powers of governors and the president regarding bills passed by state legislatures.
He was also on the bench that put the colonial-era sedition law on hold and directed authorities not to invoke it until a government review was completed.
In another notable intervention, he urged the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls during a legal challenge to the Special Intensive Revision of the voters list ahead of the state elections. Justice Kant also headed a bench that reinstated a woman sarpanch who had been improperly removed from office and called out the gender bias involved. He later issued directions mandating one-third reservation for women in bar association committees, including the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Justice Kant also served on the bench that constituted a five-member committee led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra to investigate the 2022 security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, observing that such matters required “a judicially trained mind”.
He upheld the One Rank-One Pension policy for the armed forces and continues to hear cases related to permanent commission for women officers in the military.
Among other notable rulings, he was part of the seven-judge bench that overturned the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University ruling, paving the way for reconsideration of the university’s minority status.
He also served on the Pegasus spyware case bench, which appointed a panel of cyber experts to investigate allegations of illegal surveillance, remarking that the state cannot be given a “free pass under the guise of national security.”
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