His grandfather had been a revenue officer in Gujarat with the British Government, and his father Jekisundas Kania was a Sanskrit professor and later principal of Samaldas College in the princely state of Bhavnagar.

[3] By then the most senior associate judge at the High Court, he was intended to succeed Chief Justice Sir John Beaumont upon the latter's retirement; however, as Beaumont was biased against Indians, he passed Kania over in favour of the next in line, Sir John Stone.

[5] In A. K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), the first Fundamental Rights case heard by the Indian Supreme Court,[6] Kania was in the 5-1 majority that upheld the validity of the Preventive Detention Act, 1950 and held that it did not violate the rights of the citizen under Article 19(1)(d) and Article 21 of the Constitution.

It ruled that Indian courts are not required to apply a due process of law standard by the Article 21 of the Constitution.

[7] Parliament passed the First Amendment to the Constitution, adding restrictions to free speech and other Fundamental Rights.