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CJI makes new rule on urgent hearing

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday administered the oath of office to Justice Surya Kant, who became the 53rd Chief Justice of India. Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, attended the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. It marked a personal milestone for the 62-year-old judge from Haryanas Hisar district, who took the oath in Hindi, invoking God. Moments later, he walked over to greet the prime minister. Justice Kant succeeds Justice B R Gavai and will serve until February 9, 2027, when he turns 65. His judicial career includes contributions to several landmark verdicts from the Presidential Reference on removing timelines for governors to the abrogation of Article 370, the Pegasus spyware matter, questions of free speech, citizenship rights, and the Special Intensive Revision of Bihars electoral rolls. He was also on the bench that put the sedition law on hold, directing that no new FIRs be filed until the Centre completes its review. After assuming office, CJI Kant introduced a new procedural norm for urgent mentions. From now on, he said, lawyers must submit written requests explaining the cause of urgency, and the registry will examine them. Oral mentions, he made clear, will be allowed only in rare situations. If you have any urgent mentioning, give your mentioning slip along with the cause of urgency; the registrar will examine Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, when somebodys liberty is involved, there is a question of death sentence, etc, then only I will list it, he said. His remark came after a counsel sought urgent listing in a case concerning the demolition of a canteen. On the bench, CJI Kant has repeatedly underlined the limits of free expression. He cautioned podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia for derogatory remarks, observing that free speech did not permit flouting societal norms. In another hearing, a bench he led pulled up Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah for comments he made against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi during Operation Sindoor, stressing that freedom of speech is not absolute and that ministers must speak responsibly.