Justice Surya Kant takes oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India

Justice Surya Kant on Monday took oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI), marking the beginning of a tenure that will run until February 9, 2027, when he demits office upon reaching the age of 65. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan, following his appointment as the next CJI on October 30.Born on February 10, 1962, in Hisar district of Haryana to a middle-class family, Justice Kant’s journey from a small-town lawyer to the country’s highest judicial office reflects a distinguished legal career. He secured ‘first class first’ in his Master’s degree in law from Kurukshetra University in 2011 and went on to handle several constitutional and nationally significant matters.

VIDEO | Delhi: Justice Surya Kant greets President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after taking oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India.

(Source: Third Party)

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/RpJmQn49tC

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According to information,Justice Kant has been part of several high-profile and sensitive cases, including the historic verdict on the abrogation of Article 370 that removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the Pegasus spyware case, and the judicial scrutiny of Bihar’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls. He also played a key role in cases concerning free speech, citizenship rights, and the recent presidential reference examining the powers of Governors and the President in dealing with bills passed by state legislatures—a verdict still awaited and seen as potentially consequential for Centre–state relations.His tenure in the Punjab and Haryana High Court was marked by several notable judgments, following which he was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on October 5, 2018. After his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Kant continued to deliver landmark decisions. He was on the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University judgment, paving the way for reconsideration of the university’s minority status.
Justice Kant was part of the bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance, directing that no fresh FIRs be registered under the provision until the government completes its review. He ordered the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh voters excluded from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar during the Special Intensive Revision, a direction that underscored the importance of transparency in electoral processes.He also headed a bench that reinstated a woman sarpanch who had been unlawfully removed from office, calling out the gender bias in the case, and underlined the importance of grassroots democracy. Justice Kant further pushed for gender representation within the legal profession by directing that one-third of seats in bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, be reserved for women.
In another significant matter, he was part of the bench that appointed a five-member 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, noting that such issues demanded “a judicially trained mind.” Justice Kant also upheld the constitutionality of the One Rank-One Pension scheme for defence personnel and continues to hear cases involving women officers in the armed forces seeking parity in permanent commission.Justice Kant’s role in the Pegasus surveillance case also stood out, with the bench emphasising that the state cannot claim “a free pass under the guise of national security,” underscoring his commitment to civil liberties and judicial oversight.