Justice Surya Kant, who played a key role in landmark rulings on the abrogation of Article 370, Bihar electoral rolls revision, and the Pegasus spyware case, will take oath on Monday as the 53rd Chief Justice of India.
Justice Surya Kant will succeed Justice B.R. Gavai, who demits office this evening. Appointed as the next Chief Justice of India on October 30, Justice Kant will serve for nearly 15 months and is set to demit office on February 9, 2027, upon turning 65.
Born on February 10, 1962, in Haryana’s Hisar district to a middle-class family, Justice Kant rose from a small-town lawyer to the country’s highest judicial office. Over the years, he has been part of several nationally significant and constitutionally important verdicts. He also earned the distinction of securing ‘first class first’ in his Master’s degree in Law from Kurukshetra University in 2011.
Justice Kant, who authored several notable judgments during his tenure at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on October 5, 2018. His tenure at the Supreme Court has been marked by key verdicts on the abrogation of Article 370, free speech, and citizenship rights.
He was also part of the recent Presidential reference concerning the powers of Governors and the President in dealing with bills passed by state assemblies—a verdict with significant implications for federal functioning.
Justice Kant served on the bench that put the colonial-era sedition law on hold, directing that no new FIRs be registered under the provision until a government review. Additionally, he pressed the Election Commission to disclose details of the 65 lakh voters excluded from draft electoral rolls in Bihar, while hearing petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision ahead of the state elections.
