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Justice Surya Kant: Senior Justice Suryakant will become the 53rd Chief Justice of India. Present Chief Justice Bhushan R. Gavai recommended his name to the central government today (October 27). With this, the process of appointment of the Chief Justice has started. Traditionally, the sitting Chief Justice recommends his successor only after being told by the Law Ministry. The tenure of the present Chief Justice Gavai ends on November 23. Justice Suryakant will take oath as the Chief Justice on November 24. He will retire on February 9, 2027. Their tenure will be approximately 14 months. Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65.
The highest honor for the first person from Haryana
Justice Suryakant will be the first person from Haryana to reach the highest post in the Indian judiciary. Recommending his name, Chief Justice Gavai said that Justice Suryakant is fit and competent to take charge of the Supreme Court.
I saw the city for the first time when I went for my 10th exam
Justice Suryakant’s journey started from Petwad, a small village in Hisar, Haryana. His father was a teacher. He did his education up to Class VIII in a village school where there were no benches. Like other villagers, Justice Suryakant worked in the fields in his spare time to support his family. He saw the city for the first time when he went to Hansi, a small village in Hisar, to appear for his 10th board exams.
Memorable judgment of Justice Suryakant
- Justice Suryakant of the Supreme Court has been a member of several constitutional benches. During his tenure, he participated in more than 1,000 decisions related to constitutional, human rights and administrative law. His major decisions include upholding the decision to abrogate Article 370 in 2023.
- He was part of the full bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that ordered a complete clean-up of Dera Sacha Sauda in 2017 following the jail violence in the rape case of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
- Justice Suryakant was part of the bench that suspended the colonial-era Sedition Act and directed that no fresh FIRs be filed under it till the government reviews it.
- Justice Suryakant is credited with directing the Supreme Court Bar Association to reserve one-third of the seats in bar associations for women.
- Justice Suryakant was part of the seven-judge constitution bench that overturned the Aligarh Muslim University judgment of 1967, paving the way for the university to reconsider its minority status as an institution.
- He was part of the bench that heard the Pegasus spyware case, which constituted a panel of cyber experts to investigate allegations of illegal surveillance. He also said that freedom cannot be given in the name of national security.
Bihar SIR case was also heard
Justice Suryakant also heard a case related to SIR in Bihar. Emphasizing transparency in the electoral process, Justice Suryakant directed the Election Commission to make public information about 65 lakh names omitted from the draft voter list after a particularly intensive revision in Bihar.
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