Justice Sanjiv Khanna taken oath as the 51st Chief Justice, President administered the oath

Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI) today. While the President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath to him at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and former CJI DY Chandrachud were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Judge Sanjiv Khanna was promoted as a Supreme Court judge on 18 January 2019. He has been emphasizing on reducing pending cases and speeding up the delivery of justice.

Family associated with the legal profession

Justice Khanna, who belongs to a prominent family of Delhi, is the son of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Dev Raj Khanna and nephew of former Supreme Court judge HR Khanna.

Before being appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court, he was a third-generation lawyer. He also served as the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

Assumed post after DY Chandrachud

In his farewell speech on his last working day on Friday, November 8, Justice DY Chandrachud expressed confidence in the future leadership of Justice Khanna, describing his successor as 'dignified, stable and deeply committed to justice'.

Justice Khanna had been part of many landmark decisions

Justice Khanna, who has been serving as a Supreme Court judge since January 2019, has been a part of many landmark decisions, such as maintaining the sanctity of EVMs, abolishing the electoral bond scheme, repealing Article 370 and granting interim bail to former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Tenure will be till May 1, 2025

According to the seniority rule in the Supreme Court, Justice Sanjiv Khanna will lead the country's judiciary as the 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI) for 6 months from November 11, 2024, to May 13, 2025. Since taking oath as a judge in the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019.

Justice Khanna has been a part of 456 benches here and has written 117 judgments in about six and a half years. After completing his schooling from Modern School, Barakhamba Road, Delhi, he graduated from Delhi University in 1980. Then he took a law degree from Campus Law Center (CLC) of Delhi University.

Former CJI DY Chandrachud had recommended the name of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as his successor on October 17. After this, the Center officially notified the appointment of Justice Khanna on October 24. CJI Sanjiv Khanna will serve a term of a little over 6 months and will retire on May 1, 2025.

News CJI detailed information

Justice Sanjiv Khanna's uncle, former Supreme Court judge Justice Hans Raj Khanna, had given the only dissenting judgment in the "habeas corpus case" of ADM, Jabalpur vs Shivkant Shukla, (1976) in 1976. After this, the then Indira Gandhi government bypassed the seniority of four judges including the senior-most judge Justice Hans Raj Khanna and made Justice MH Beg the Chief Justice of the country in January 1977. It is also an interesting fact that Justice Khanna was promoted directly to the Supreme Court from his original High Court - Delhi High Court.

Since 1997, only six judges have been promoted from their original High Court and directly appointed as judges in the Supreme Court. Justice Khanna was promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on 18-01-2019.

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How has Sanjeev Khanna's tenure been so far?

It is also a happy coincidence that Justice Sanjeev Khanna, after taking oath as a judge in the Supreme Court on 18 January 2019 in the CJI's court, started his first day from the same court room, Court No. 2, from where his uncle Justice H.R. Khanna had resigned and retired.

In his tenure in the Supreme Court so far, Justice Khanna has been a part of the Constitution Bench constituted for many important cases. The Electoral Bond Scheme is prominent among the decisions of such Constitution Bench and larger bench.