Haryana EVM recount among key verdicts given by Justice Kant

Justice Surya Kant — who was on Monday recommended for being appointed as the next Chief Justice of India — brings a wealth of experience spanning two decades on the Bench. His stint is marked by landmark verdicts on abrogation of Article 370, free speech, democracy, corruption, environment and gender equality.

landmark judgments

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• Justice Surya Kant-led Bench ordered first-ever EVM recount that flipped Haryana panchayat poll result
• Reinstated a Chhattisgarh woman sarpanch removed unlawfully and called out gender bias in the matter
• Directed the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh excluded Bihar voters

It was a Bench led by Justice Kant which ordered the first-ever EVM recount that flipped a Haryana panchayat poll result. In August this year, on his order electronic voting machines (EVMs) and other records related to the election of the sarpanch of Buana Lakhu gram panchayat in Panipat district of Haryana were summoned and a recount of votes was conducted within the Supreme Court premises, leading to a reversal of the original result.

In an order that strengthened grassroots democracy and gender justice, a Justice Kant-led Bench reinstated a woman sarpanch from Chhattisgarh unlawfully removed from office and called out the gender bias in the matter.

He is also credited with reserving one-third of seats in bar associations, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, for women members.

Justice Kant has been part of over 300 Benches since his elevation to the Supreme Court, contributing to jurisprudence across criminal, constitutional and administrative law. However, he will assume office of the CJI at a time when the backlog of cases in the top court has crossed 90,000.

His Bench flagged the absence of a legal framework for domestic workers, directing the Centre to form an expert committee to propose protections for this vulnerable workforce. In a landmark verdict, he cautioned courts to be “mindful of collateral privacy infringements” when ordering DNA tests in paternity disputes.

He was part of the historic Bench that kept the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance, until the government reviewed it. Justice Kant headed the Bench which asked the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh excluded voters in Bihar in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Justice Kant was part of the Bench that appointed a five-member committee to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2022 Punjab visit.