Surya Kant (judge)

Surya Kant (born 10 February 1962) is an Indian judge who is serving as the 53rd Chief Justice of India from 24 November 2025.^[2][3][4] Prior to his elevation as judge, Kant was a Senior Advocate and also served as the Advocate General for Haryana. He is also the visitor of National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi.^[5] Furthermore, he is the ex officio patron-in-chief of National Legal Services Authority.

Surya Kant
53rd[1] Chief Justice of India
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2025
Appointed by	Droupadi Murmu
Preceded by	B. R. Gavai
Judge of Supreme Court of India
In office 24 May 2019 – 23 November 2025
Nominated by	Ranjan Gogoi
Appointed by	Ram Nath Kovind
23rd Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
In office 5 October 2018 – 23 May 2019
Nominated by	Dipak Misra
Appointed by	Ram Nath Kovind
Preceded by	Mansoor Ahmad Mir Sanjay Karol (acting)
Succeeded by	V. Ramasubramanian
Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court
In office 9 January 2004 – 4 October 2018
Nominated by	V. N. Khare
Appointed by	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Advocate General for Haryana
In office 7 July 2000 – 8 January 2004
Appointed by	Babu Parmanand
Chief Minister	Om Prakash Chautala
Preceded by	Manmohan Lal Sarin
Succeeded by	Ashok Aggarwal
Personal details
Born	(1962-02-10) 10 February 1962 (age 63) Petwar, Hisar, Haryana
Parent	Madan Gopal Sharma (Father)
Alma mater	Govt. Post Graduate College, Hisar, (BA) Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, (LLB), Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, (LLM)

Early life and education

Kant was born in 1962, in village Petwar of Hisar district in Haryana, into a middle class family.^[6][7][8] His father, Madan Gopal Sharma, was a Sanskrit teacher.^[9][10] He graduated in (B.A in Geography) from the Government Post Graduate College, Hisar in 1981 and earned his Bachelor of Laws from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak in 1984. He stood First Class First in his Master of Laws from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.^[11][12]

Career

Kant was the youngest Advocate General of Haryana. He was made a judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court on 09 January 2004^[13] Kant was nominated as a member of the National Legal Services Authority on 23 February 2007 for two consecutive terms. Kant organised and attended several prestigious conferences. On 5 October 2018, he took oath as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.^[14][15] On 9 May 2019, the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi recommended his elevation to the Supreme Court of India. On 24 May 2019, Kant took oath as a judge of the Supreme Court, a position he served until 23 November 2025.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Kant took oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) on 24 November 2025 during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.^[20][21][22]

Notable case involvements

Kant has delivered numerous judgments on human rights, gender justice, education and prison reforms inter alia. During his tenure at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he delivered the Jasvir Singh judgement, directing the State of Punjab to form a Jail Reforms Committee for creating a scheme for enabling conjugal and family visits for jail inmates keeping in mind the beneficial nature and reformatory goals of such amenities.^[23]

Kant's involvement in the high-profile India's Got Latent case drew a lot of attention. The case stemmed from a controversy surrounding Indian comedian Ranveer Allahabadia, who was a participant in the comedy talent show India's Got Latent. During the show, Allahabadia posed a question to a contestant: "Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once to make it stop forever?"^[24] The remark ignited a nationwide controversy, before it ultimately reached the Supreme Court. Kant, serving on the case, expressed strong disapproval of Allahabadia's remarks. During the hearing, he said that he knew how to "deal" with "youngsters who think we are outdated" and criticised them for "being oversmart." He asserted that "there is nothing like a fundamental right on a platter," and added that citizens must fulfill their "duty" in order to enjoy their fundamental rights.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Justice Kant has been involved in several important decisions of the Supreme Court such as^[29]

• Abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which removed the special status to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Holding the Electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional.
• Pegasus spyware case
• Suspension of the sedition law.
• 16th Presidential Reference
• Article 212(1) does not put an embargo on ‘Legislative Decision’ ^[30]

Notable speeches

While delivering a lecture on prison reforms at HP National Law University in May 2022, Kant discussed the effect of incarceration on prisoners’ families and recalled the novel system of prison administration called ‘break-up and weekend prison’ proposed by Justice VR Krishna Iyer.^[31]