Justice Surya Kant Takes Oath As 53rd CJI; Video

New Delhi: Justice Surya Kant on Monday took oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI). President Droupadi Murmu administered oath of office to him. He succeeded Justice B R Gavai, who demitted office on November 23.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other prominent dignitaries attended the oath-taking event.

Justice Kant was appointed as the next CJI on October 30 and will remain in the post for nearly 15 months. He will demit office on February 9, 2027 on attaining the age of 65 years.

About Justice Surya Kant:

Born on February 10, 1962 in Hisar district of Haryana to a middle-class family, Justice Kant went from being a small-town lawyer to the country's highest judicial office, where he has been part of several verdicts and orders of national importance and constitutional matters. He also has the distinction of standing 'first class first' in his Master's degree in law in 2011 from Kurukshetra University.

He began his legal journey in Hisar in 1984 before moving to Chandigarh to practise before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He was appointed the youngest Advocate General of Haryana in July 2000, designated a senior advocate in 2001, and elevated as a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004.

Justice Kant was appointed the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh HC on October 5, 2018.

His tenure as an SC judge is marked by verdicts on the abrogation of Article 370, free speech and citizenship rights.

The judge was part of the recent presidential reference on the powers of the Governor and President in dealing with bills passed by a state assembly. The verdict is keenly awaited with potential ramifications across states.

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

Justice Kant also nudged the Election Commission to disclose the details of 65 lakh voters excluded from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the poll panel's decision to undertake Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters list in the poll-bound state.