Justice Sanjiv Khanna appointed as next Chief Justice of India, set to take over on November 11

 

President Droupadi Murmu officially announced the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the forthcoming Chief Justice of India. The Central government approved this decision. Justice Khanna is set to assume the role of the 51st CJI when the current CJI DY Chandrachud retires on November 10. 

Following standard procedure, CJI Chandrachud previously recommended Justice Khanna, the first puisne judge at the Supreme Court, for the position. Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Union Minister of State with independent charge of the Law & Justice Ministry, disseminated this information on X (formerly Twitter). 

Justice Khanna's term will span 183 days, slightly over six months. Justice Sanjiv Khanna commenced his legal career in 1983, focusing on taxation, constitutional law, arbitration, commercial, and environmental issues, among other areas.

 His retirement is scheduled for May 13, 2025. In 2004, he was designated as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. He assumed the role of an Additional Judge at the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was subsequently appointed as a permanent judge the following year. 

Upon his appointment on January 18, 2019, he was promoted to the Supreme Court. Justice Khanna, the nephew of former Supreme Court judge Hans Raj Khanna, is recognized for his notable judgments, particularly in recent months. 

He played a pivotal role in upholding the abrogation of Article 370 and in striking down the Electoral Bonds scheme for anonymous donations to political parties. In May 2023, Justice Khanna, alongside other judges on a Constitution Bench, ruled that the Supreme Court has the authority under Article 142 to grant a divorce decree in cases of irretrievable marriage breakdown.

In April of the current year, a Bench comprising Justice Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta dismissed a petition requesting the alignment of all Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with votes cast via Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during elections. Prior to this year's Lok Sabha elections, a Bench led by Justice Khanna declined to halt the appointment of former bureaucrats Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu has been appointed as the new Election Commissioner. 

The Bench, presided over by Justice Khanna, granted interim bail to the ex-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 12 in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Previously, a Bench led by Justice Khanna had also granted bail to Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Singh in the same case. In August, Justice Khanna raised concerns over a Mumbai college's prohibition on students wearing burqa, hijab, or niqab on campus.

 The presiding Bench partially halted the institution's notice in question. Justice Khanna withdrew from reviewing petitions related to the Supreme Court's decision in October 2023, which refused to acknowledge the rights of same-sex couples to marry or form civil unions. In 2021, he dissented from the majority ruling on the Central Vista Project. 

Justice Khanna expressed surprise when he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2019. During a Full Court Reference at the High Court, he discussed three issues in the legal system: delayed case resolutions, high litigation costs, and the belief that winning a case requires dishonesty. Justice Khanna stated that his judicial philosophy is to uphold the law rather than create it. 

He once remarked that enthusiasm is not a desirable quality in a judge.