ustice Surya Kant is the 53rd Chief Justice of India. He was sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhawan earlier today, Monday. That happened. And then the focus immediately shifted to his 90,000-case priority list. He has just over a year in the top chair.
He took the oath in Hindi, an authentic touch, and he started working.
The Precedent-Setter: State vs. Governor
This swearing-in wasn’t quiet. Days ago, Justice Kant, on the 16th Presidential Reference Bench, dropped a major ruling. He advised the President: Governors (and the President) are not bound by specific timelines for dealing with State Bills. Not the Supreme Court’s timelines, or anything imposed by that Tamil Nadu Governor case judgment from April 8. That’s a constitutional boundary line drawn sharp.
The ‘Indianness’ Factor
The Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, was right there, praising Justice Kant and his predecessor, Justice B.R. Gavai. The praise was for bringing “Indianness” back. What draws people there? Their judgments barely touch foreign precedents. They bank on the deep heritage of Indian case laws. That is the philosophy now.
The Negotiator and The Arrears Bomb
CJI Kant is not seen as a confrontation judge. He is the nudger. He resolved the farmers’ agitation from the Bench itself, forcing the farmers and the Union government to the table when things were spiraling out of control.
Now, his first priority is massive: chipping away at the 90,000-strong arrears in the Supreme Court. That number just climbed past 90,000. He calls it his biggest challenge, bringing that down to a “manageable” number. He plans to constitute massive nine- and seven-judge Benches to untangle the core legal questions that are holding up thousands of related cases in courts across the country.
SIR, Humour, and Nuance
SIR Case: His tenure will be closely watched for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) case. He’s already made interventions pushing for transparency and access for citizens. But here’s the kicker: The basic, constitutional question of the SIR exercise itself? That is yet to be taken up. Meanwhile, the SIR has already ballooned from Bihar to 12 States, covering 51 crore people. It’s ongoing.
The Youtuber Case: He drew a hard dividing line when hearing Youtuber Ranveer Allahbadia’s case (seeking protection over his comments on parents and sex). Justice Kant’s take was sharp: “Humour is an art. Humour is something that the entire family can enjoy and nobody feels embarrassed… Using filthy language is not talent.” A clear message about the line between humour and perversity.
Social Media: He showed the same careful approach on social media posts—constituting a panel of senior IPS officers just to comb through academician Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s contentious posts, looking for the crucial nuances.
Justice B.R. Gavai, his immediate predecessor (they were appointed to the SC on the same day, May 24, 2019), reserved the official CJI vehicle for Justice Kant’s maiden journey to the Supreme Court. An act of camaraderie. A new era begins today.
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