NEW DELHI: Justice Surya Kant on Monday took oath because the 53rd Chief Justice of India, marking the beginning of an almost 15-month tenure on the helm of the judiciary. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Justice Kant.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union house minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, and commerce minister Piyush Goyal have been current on the ceremony.He succeeds Justice BR Gavai, who demitted workplace on Sunday night. Appointed on October 30, Justice Kant will serve till February 9, 2027, when he turns 65.
Landmark verdicts and key interventions
Justice Kant was a part of the Supreme Court docket bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, saved the colonial-era sedition legislation in abeyance by directing that no new FIRs be filed, and oversaw the presidential reference on the powers of Governors and the President relating to state payments.Additionally learn: Key judgments Justice Surya Kant was part ofHe requested the Election Fee to reveal the names of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar’s draft rolls, and reinstated a lady sarpanch who was unlawfully eliminated, pointing to gender bias. He directed that one-third of seats in bar associations, together with the Supreme Court docket Bar Affiliation, be reserved for ladies.Justice Kant was additionally on the bench that appointed a committee led by Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the safety breach throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2022 Punjab go to, observing that such questions required “a judicially skilled thoughts”. He upheld the One Rank-One Pension scheme and continues to listen to circumstances filed by girls officers looking for parity in everlasting fee. He was a part of the seven-judge bench that overruled the 1967 AMU judgment and served on the bench dealing with the Pegasus spyware and adware case, stating that the state can’t get a “free cross beneath the guise of nationwide safety”.Born on February 10, 1962 in Hisar, Haryana, Justice Kant rose from a small-town apply to the nation’s prime judicial workplace. He stood “top quality first” in his Grasp’s diploma in legislation from Kurukshetra College and later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh Excessive Court docket. Identified for his calm strategy to public scrutiny, he had earlier mentioned: “Frankly talking, I name social media ‘unsocial media’ and I don’t really feel pressured by on-line feedback... Truthful criticism is at all times acceptable.”