The 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Monday took oath at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. President of India Droupadi Murmu administered oath to the 51st Chief Justice of India on November 11.
The ceremony was presided over by President Droupadi Murmu and was attended by several dignitaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the former CJI DY Chandrachud.
Justice Khanna will serve as the CJI for six months before he retires in May 2025. During his tenure, the Supreme Court is likely to take up the ongoing Marital Rape case where the top court is deciding if marital rape should be criminalised. The validity of Aadhar Act and amendments made to Money Laundering law (PMLA) via Money Bill is another much awaited constitutional bench decision.
The Centre had announced Justice Khanna’s appointment as the next CJI on October 24, 2024. This formal announcement came just a week after former CJI DY Chandrachud formally recommended him as his successor.
Justice Khanna’s judicial career spans over four decades. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983 and started his practice in the Tis Hazari district courts of Delhi before advancing to the Delhi High Court. Before being elevated to the Delhi High Court in 2005, he served as senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department and as standing counsel for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. After being elevated to the Delhi High Court, he became a permanent judge in 2006. He studied law at the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. After graduating, he enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983.
Interestingly, Justice Khanna ascended to the Supreme Court in January 2019 without serving as a chief justice of any high court.
Landmark Verdicts by him includes constitutionality of the electoral bond scheme, Validity of 2019 abrogation of Article 370, the challenge to electronic voting machine (EVM) integrity.
A division bench headed by him had rejected demands for reverting to paper ballots before the Lok Sabha elections.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Justice Khanna granted interim bail to then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, one cannot miss his detailed judgment denying bail to Manish Sisodia in November 2023.