Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take oath as 51st Chief Justice of India today, a day after incumbent Justice DY Chandrachud demitted office on attaining the age of 65. Justice Chandrachud has taken over as CJI on November 8, 2022. Justice Khanna will have a six-month tenure as the CJI and will retire on May 13, 2025. As a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Khanna was part of the benches that dealt with several crucial cases, such as the electoral bonds, where the bench termed it unconstitutional and the case pertaining to the repeal of Article 370. President Droupadi Murmu Administered the oath in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, and former CJI DY Chandrachud were also present during the oath- taking ceremony. Justice Sanjiv Khanna takes over as CJI after former CJI DY Chandrachud retired from the Supreme Court on Sunday, November 10. In his farewell speech on his last working day on friday, November 8, Justice DY Chandrachud expressed Confidence in Justice Khanna’s future leadership, describing his successor as “dignified stable and deeply committed to justice”.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna hails from Delhi. He completed his entire education in Delhi. He was born on May 14, 1960. Justice Khanna’s father, Late Justice Des Raj Khanna, retired as a judge of the Delhi High Court. Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s mother, Mrs Saroj Khanna, was a lecturer in Hindi at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. Justice Khanna completed his schooling at Modern School, New Delhi, and then pursued law from the campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, Delhi University.