Who Is Justice Surya Kant? From Abrogation Of Article 370 To The Bihar SIR – A Detailed Profile Of The 53rd Chief Justice Of India

Justice Surya Kant takes oath today as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

Justice Surya Kant was born on February 10, 1962, in Petwar village in Haryana’s Hisar district. He grew up in a humble setting, where he attended a village school that did not have benches until Class VIII. He completed his graduation from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar, in 1981. 

He earned his law degree from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in 1984. He continued his studies while serving as a judge and secured a First Class First in his master’s degree in law from Kurukshetra University through distance education.

Justice Surya Kant’s Initial Legal Practice 

Justice Surya Kant began practising law at the District Court in Hisar in 1984. He shifted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh in 1985, where he specialised in Constitutional, Civil, and Service matters. He represented various government bodies, universities, corporations, and banks during his years of practice.

The Haryana government appointed him as the Advocate General on July 7, 2000, making him the youngest person to hold the post at that time. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in March 2001 for his strong performance at the Bar.

Justice Surya Kant entered the judiciary on January 9, 2004, when he became a permanent judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He served there for over 14 years and delivered several important judgments. He took charge as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on October 5, 2018.

He joined the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019, as a judge. Over the years, he worked on major constitutional cases and became the second-most senior judge of the Supreme Court before being recommended as the 53rd Chief Justice of India.

Justice Surya Kant’s Key Judgments and Contributions

Justice Surya Kant played important roles in many significant cases. He was part of the bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also joined the bench that suspended the use of the colonial-era sedition law until the government completed its review. He authored the Jasvir Singh judgment, which directed the state to create a policy for conjugal and family visits for jail inmates.

He also directed the government to safeguard the rights of domestic workers, and ordered that one-third of seats in bar associations should be reserved for women.

Justice Surya Kant’s Role in National Issues and Investigations

Justice Surya Kant handled several matters linked to national security, elections, and constitutional powers. He took part in hearings on the Pegasus spyware case, where he held that the state could not claim a free pass on grounds of national security. He ordered a probe into the security breach during the Prime Minister’s 2022 visit to Punjab.

He pushed the Election Commission to release details of 65 lakh voters left out of Bihar’s draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision. He also took part in a seven-judge bench that revisited the 1967 ruling on Aligarh Muslim University’s minority status.

Justice Surya Kant will assume office as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on November 24, 2025. The current CJI, Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, recommended his name ahead of his retirement on November 23, 2025. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Justice Kant will serve until February 9, 2027, when he turns 65. His appointment marks the first time someone from Haryana will hold the top judicial position. His long experience in constitutional law, public rights, gender justice, and national matters is expected to guide his leadership in the Supreme Court.

Justice Surya Kant’s Net Worth 

Justice Surya Kant’s declared assets show that he has Fixed Deposits of more than Rs 8 crore and a provident fund balance of Rs 4.23 crore. He does not own a vehicle, but his wife owns a WagonR. He holds six residential properties and two plots in different parts of the country. His assets include a one-kanal house in Chandigarh’s Sector 10 and a 500-square-yard plot in Eco City-II, New Chandigarh. He also owns a 192-square-yard house in Sector 18-C and 13.5 acres of agricultural land in Golpura village, Panchkula.

He owns a 300-square-yard plot in Sushant Lok-I, Gurugram, a 250-square-yard house in DLF-II, and the ground floor and basement of a 285-square-yard property in Greater Kailash-I, New Delhi. In Hisar, he holds 12 acres of farmland in Petwar and a one-third share in ancestral houses located in Petwar and Hisar Urban Estate-II.

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