Kumar gained his LLB from Delhi University’s law faculty and completed a doctor of laws from Panjab University in 2004, according to his profile on the Indian parliament’s website.

He was designated senior counsel of the Supreme Court of India, became additional solicitor general of India in 1991 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha for Congress in in 2002.

His hobbies, according to his parliamentary profile, are “table tennis, wrestling, reading, travel, music and films”.

Khursheed, who was given the foreign affairs ministry today, had been involved in a public spat with campaigner Arvind Kejriwal after allegations of impropriety relating to a charity his wife was involved in, who has since filed a defamation action against several publications and TV channels.

Khursheed said in an interview earlier this month that the entry of foreign lawyers should be left to the bar, adding that the collegium system of judicial appointments might be reformed.

UPDATE: PTI reports Kumar’s first ministerial statement that judicial delays had to be decreased. “We need to cut delays in justice delivery system. But most importantly is to restore the fine balance between different organs of government,” he said. “The constitutional spirit and its discipline must be imbibed across the border. I believe we will need to bring a bit of constitutional discipline in the manner in which the Law Ministry is expected to be pivot for harmonising various jurisdiction within the government.”

Photo by World Economic Forum / Norbert Schiller