Justice Surya Kant is set to take oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on Monday. At 63, he’s the senior-most judge after CJI Sanjiv Khanna retires, and he will be serving till February 2027.
Kant was born in Hisar, Haryana. He began practising law in 1985, first at the Punjab & Haryana High Court and later at the Supreme Court. In 2018, he became Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court and then, a year later was elevated to the Supreme Court. He’s been part of benches that decided some of the biggest cases in recent years.
Here are a few important judgements he was involved in:
One Rank One Pension (OROP)
In 2024, Kant’s bench upheld the OROP scheme for ex-servicemen but asked the government to clear pending arrears in a time-bound manner.
Pegasus spyware case
Kant was also on the bench that set up a technical committee in 2021 to investigate whether the government used Pegasus to snoop on citizens.
Article 370
In December 2023, Kant was part of the five-judge bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370 and the creation of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories.
Same-sex marriage
In the 2023 verdict that refused to recognise same-sex marriage, Kant was one of the judges who said the right to marry is not a fundamental right and left it to Parliament.
Demonetisation
Kant was also on the bench that upheld the 2016 demonetisation decision by 4-1 majority.
Internet shutdown in Jammu & Kashmir
In 2020, his bench ruled that indefinite internet suspension is not allowed and access to internet is part of freedom of speech.
NEET paper leak 2024
Kant also headed the bench that refused to cancel the entire exam and ordered re-test only for affected students.
Electoral bonds
Though the final striking-down came later, Kant was part of earlier hearings on the controversial scheme.
He’s also known for pushing faster justice (he once suggested “zero pendency” courts) and for strong remarks against mob lynching and hate speech. With almost 15 months as CJI, he’ll head the constitution benches on many pending big issues, including the validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act and several tax disputes.
