Surya Kant (judge)

Suryakant Sharma (born 10 February 1962) is an Indian judge of the Supreme Court of India, set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, if the convention of seniority is followed.^[1] 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.^[2]

Surya Kant
Judge of Supreme Court of India
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 2019
Nominated by	Ranjan Gogoi
Appointed by	Ram Nath Kovind
Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
In office 5 October 2018 – 23 May 2019
Nominated by	Ranjan Gogoi
Appointed by	Ram Nath Kovind
Preceded by	Mansoor Ahmad Mir
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
Preceded by	Manmohan Lal Sarin
Succeeded by	Ashok Aggarwal
Personal details
Born	(1962-02-10) 10 February 1962 (age 63) Petwar, Hisar, Haryana

Early life

Kant was born in 1962 at Hisar district village Petwar of Haryana into a middle class family.^[3][4] He graduated 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 in 2011.^[5][6]

Career

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.^[7][8] 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 of India.^{[9][10][11][12]} He is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, if the convention of seniority is followed.^[1]

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.^[13]

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?"^[14] The remark ignited a nationwide controversy, before it ultimately reached the Supreme Court, where it gained significant public attention. Kant, serving on the case, expressed strong disapproval of Allahabadia's remarks. During the hearing, he stated that he knew how to "deal" with "youngsters who think we are outdated" and criticized them for "being oversmart." He asserted that "there is nothing like a fundamental right on a platter," emphasizing that citizens must fulfill their "duty" in order to enjoy their fundamental rights.^{[15][16][17][18]}

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.^[19]