Surya Kant (judge) explained

Surya Kant
Office:Judge of Supreme Court of India
Nominator:Ranjan Gogoi
Appointer:Ram Nath Kovind
Termstart:24 May 2019
Office1:Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
Birth Date:1962 2, df=y
Termstart1:5 October 2018
Termend1:23 May 2019
Nominator1:Ranjan Gogoi
Appointer1:Ram Nath Kovind
Office2:Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court
Appointer2:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Nominator2:V. N. Khare
Termstart2:9 January 2004
Termend2:4 October 2018
Birth Place:Petwar, Hisar, Haryana
Office3:Advocate General for Haryana
Appointer3:Babu Parmanand
Predecessor3:Manmohan Lal Sarin
Successor3:Ashok Aggarwal
Termstart3:7 July 2000
Termend3:8 January 2004

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.

Early life

Kant was born in 1962 at Hisar district village Petwar of Haryana into a middle class family.[2] [3] 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.[4] [5]

Career

Kant started his law practice at the Hisar district court of Haryana in 1984 and later shifted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh in 1985. He represented multiple universities, boards, corporations, banks and various other government bodies in the High Court. He was appointed the youngest advocate general of Haryana on 7 July 2000 and was designated as senior advocate in March 2001. Kant held the office of advocate general till his elevation as a permanent judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9 January 2004. He was also 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.[6] [7] 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.[8] [9] [10] [11] He is set to become the 52nd Chief Justice of India, if the convention of seniority is followed.

Notable judgements

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.[12]

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.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 23 November 2021. 7 Next CJIs. 24 November 2021. Supreme Court Observer. en.
  2. News: Arora . Vijay . Full court reference for Justice Kant . . 24 May 2019 . https://archive.today/20220703203345/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/himachal/full-court-reference-for-justice-kant-777980 . 3 July 2022 . live.
  3. Web site: Jain. Ritika. 2019-05-09. SC collegium's two new judge picks set to give India its second Dalit chief justice. 2020-06-02. ThePrint. en-US.
  4. Web site: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Chief Justice. hphighcourt.nic.in. 15 December 2018.
  5. Web site: Justice Surya Kant appointed Chief Justice of HP High Court. thestatesman.com. 3 October 2018 . 15 December 2018.
  6. News: Justice Surya Kant appointed as the chief justice of Himachal HC. 4 October 2018. 6 February 2019.
  7. News: Justice Surya Kant appointed Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. 4 October 2018. The Indian Express. 6 February 2019.
  8. Web site: Hon'ble Judges. 26 January 2019.
  9. Web site: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant's Profile. 15 December 2018.
  10. Web site: Modi govt clears name of judge as Himachal chief justice after stalling for 9 months. 15 December 2018.
  11. News: SC Collegium reiterates names of Justices Bose, Bopanna for elevation to apex court. The Economic Times . 10 May 2019 . May 10, 2019 . Rautray . Samanwaya .
  12. Web site: High Court tells Punjab, Haryana to form jail reforms panels. 7 January 2015 . 7 January 2015.
  13. Web site: Justice Surya Kant recalls Justice Iyer's plan of novel prison system. 28 May 2022.