Justice Surya Kant takes oath as CJI; to hold office for nearly 15 months

NEW DELHI: Justice Surya Kant connected Monday took oath arsenic the 53rd Chief Justice of India, marking the commencement of a astir 15-month tenure astatine the helm of the judiciary. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Justice Kant.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union location curate Amit Shah, defence curate Rajnath Singh, and commerce curate Piyush Goyal were contiguous astatine the ceremony.He succeeds Justice BR Gavai, who demitted bureau connected Sunday evening. Appointed connected October 30, Justice Kant volition service until February 9, 2027, erstwhile helium turns 65.

Landmark verdicts and cardinal interventions

Justice Kant was portion of the Supreme Court seat that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, kept the colonial-era sedition instrumentality successful abeyance by directing that nary caller FIRs beryllium filed, and oversaw the statesmanlike notation connected the powers of Governors and the President regarding authorities bills.Also read: Key judgments Justice Surya Kant was a portion ofHe asked the Election Commission to disclose the names of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar’s draught rolls, and reinstated a pistillate sarpanch who was unlawfully removed, pointing to sex bias. He directed that one-third of seats successful barroom associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, beryllium reserved for women.Justice Kant was besides connected the seat that appointed a committee led by Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the information breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2022 Punjab visit, observing that specified questions required “a judicially trained mind”.

He upheld the One Rank-One Pension strategy and continues to perceive cases filed by women officers seeking parity successful imperishable commission. He was portion of the seven-judge seat that overruled the 1967 AMU judgement and served connected the seat handling the Pegasus spyware case, stating that the authorities cannot get a “free walk nether the guise of nationalist security”.Born connected February 10, 1962 successful Hisar, Haryana, Justice Kant roseate from a small-town signifier to the country’s apical judicial office. He stood “first people first” successful his Master’s grade successful instrumentality from Kurukshetra University and aboriginal served arsenic Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. Known for his calm attack to nationalist scrutiny, helium had earlier said: “Frankly speaking, I telephone societal media ‘unsocial media’ and I bash not consciousness pressured by online comments.

.. Fair disapproval is ever acceptable.”