Who Is Justice Surya Kant, Next Chief Justice Of India; Know About His Key Verdicts And Judicial Career

Justice Surya Kant has been announced as the next Chief Justice of India. Justice Kant’s name has been referred to the Union Law Ministry by CJI Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai for approval. After CJI Gavai demits office on November 23, Justice Kant will be the 53rd CJI and will stay in office till February 9, 2027.

Who is Justice Surya Kant?

Justice Surya Kant is the senior-most judge after CJI Gavai. Born in Hisar's middle-class family on February 10, 1962, Justice Surya Kant became a Supreme Court judge on May 24, 2019.

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As his retirement date is February 9, 2027, he would hold the top position for 15 months once appointed. Justice Surya Kant brings to the country's top judicial office a wealth of experience spanning two decades on the Bench, marked by landmark verdicts on abrogation of Article 370, free speech, democracy, corruption, environment and gender equality.

He was part of the historic bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance, directing that no new FIRs be registered under it until a government review.

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In the latest controversy around the deletion of voters in Bihar, he nudged the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh excluded voters in Bihar.

In another historic direction, he asked that one-third of seats in bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, be reserved for women.

Among many other high-profile cases, he was also a part of the bench that appointed a five-member committee headed by former SC judge Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2022 Punjab visit, saying such matters required 'a judicially trained mind.'

He upheld the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme for defence forces, calling it constitutionally valid. He was on the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 Aligarh Muslim University judgment, opening the way for reconsideration of the institution's minority status.

Pegasus spyware case was also heard by a bench with Justice Surya Kant as a member. The bench had appointed a panel of cyber experts to probe allegations of unlawful surveillance, famously stating that the state cannot get a 'free pass under the guise of national security.'

(With Agency Inputs)