New Delhi: Justice Sanjiv Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India today. CJI DY Chandrachud retired yesterday. He had recommended the name of Justice Khanna to the government. President Droupadi Murmu administers the oath of Office of the Chief Justice of India to Sanjiv Khanna at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Justice Khanna’s tenure will be only 6 months. 64-year-old Justice Khanna will retire on 13 May 2025. As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Khanna has written 65 judgments. During this time, he has been a part of about 275 benches.
Sanjiv Khanna’s legacy has been that of advocacy. His father Devraj Khanna has been a judge of the Delhi High Court. At the same time, Uncle Hansraj Khanna was a famous Supreme Court judge. He opposed the imposition of emergency by the Indira government. He also expressed displeasure over putting political opponents in jail without hearing.
In 1977, his becoming the Chief Justice on the basis of seniority was considered certain, but Justice MH Beg was made the CJI. In protest against this, he resigned from the Supreme Court. After the fall of Indira’s government, he also became the Law Minister for 3 days in Chaudhary Charan Singh’s government.
Sanjeev Khanna was influenced by his uncle, so he did LLB from Campus Law Center of Delhi University in 1983. After this, Justice Khanna started practicing law from Tis Hazari Court in Delhi. Then he was also a standing counsel for the Income Tax Department of Delhi Government and civil matters. Standing counsel in common language means government lawyer.
Justice Khanna became a judge of Delhi High Court in the year 2005. After being a judge of Delhi High Court for 13 years, Justice Khanna was promoted as a Supreme Court judge in 2019.
Sanjeev Khanna’s promotion from High Court judge to Supreme Court judge was also controversial. In 2019, when CJI Ranjan Gogoi recommended his name, Khanna was ranked 33rd in the seniority ranking of judges. Gogoi promoted him calling him more capable for the Supreme Court.
In his 6-year career in the Supreme Court, Justice Khanna has been a part of 450 judgment benches. He himself wrote 115 judgments. In July this year, a bench of Justice Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta granted bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. In the decision related to AMU on November 8, Justice Khanna supported giving minority status to the university.