Kumar Bahukhandi
New Delhi : Chief Justice of India ( CJI) Sanjiv Khanna Oath: Justice Sanjiv Khanna has become the 51st Chief Justice of the country. On Monday, November 11 , 2024 President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath to him at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna will replace former CJI DY Chandrachud, whose term ended on November 10, 2024.
Justice Khanna, who has been serving as a Supreme Court judge since January 2019, has been a part of many landmark judgements, such as upholding the sanctity of EVMs, scrapping the electoral bond scheme, abrogating Article 370 and granting interim bail to former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Khanna has written 65 judgements. During this period, he has been a part of about 275 benches.
Biography of Justice Sanjiv Khanna
Justice Khanna was born on May 14, 1960 in Delhi and studied law from DU’s Campus Law Center. He was appointed as the permanent counsel (civil) of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in 2004 and became an ad hoc judge in the Delhi High Court in the year 2005. Later he was appointed as a permanent judge. He also argued in many criminal cases as additional public prosecutor and amicus curiae in the Delhi High Court. He also had a long tenure as the senior permanent counsel of the Income Tax Department. As CJI, reducing the number of pending cases and speeding up the delivery of justice are his priorities. He is the son of Justice Devraj Khanna, a senior judge of the Delhi High Court, and the nephew of Justice HR Khanna, a well-known former judge of the Supreme Court. His uncle Justice HR Khanna was in the headlines in the year 1976 for resigning after writing a dissenting judgment in the ADM Jabalpur case during the Emergency.
Father has been a judge of Delhi High Court
Justice Sanjeev Khanna comes from a prestigious family. His father Dev Raj Khanna was a judge of Delhi High Court. His uncle was Justice Hans Raj Khanna, one of the most respected judges of the country. Justice HR Khanna gave a historic decision against the government during the Emergency in the year 1976. He was the only judge in the bench of 5 judges who said that the fundamental right of personal liberty of citizens cannot be obstructed even in an emergency. It is believed that for this reason the then Indira Gandhi made a junior judge the Chief Justice instead of him. After this Justice HR Khanna resigned.
How has been Sanjeev Khanna’s tenure so far?
Justice Sanjeev Khanna was also present in the bench that approved the decision of the Central Government to repeal Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Constitution Bench unanimously upheld the Center’s move to repeal Article 370. This order also directed to restore the status of the state.
Justice Khanna agreed with the decisions given by the CJI and Justice Kaul.
Justice Sanjeev Khanna also headed the two-judge bench that granted interim bail to the then Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal.
Enrolled as a lawyer with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983, Sanjeev Khanna initially practiced in the District Court located in Tis Hazari Complex in Delhi and later in the Delhi High Court and tribunals in diverse fields like constitutional law, direct taxation, arbitration.
In the year 2004, he was appointed as a permanent lawyer for the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
In Delhi High Court, he also played his role as Additional Public Prosecutor and Amicus Curiae in many criminal cases.
He was promoted as Additional Judge of Delhi High Court in 2005. He was made a permanent judge in the year 2006.
While being a judge of Delhi High Court, Justice Khanna held the post of Chairman/Judge-in-Charge of Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Center and District Court Arbitration Center.
He was promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on January 18, 2019. He held the post of Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee from June 17, 2023 to December 25, 2023. He is currently the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority and a member of the Governing Council of National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
