New Delhi: Justice Sanjiv Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Tuesday. He succeeds Justice D Y Chandrachud. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Khanna at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Elevated as a Supreme Court judge on January 18, 2019, Justice Khanna will superannuate on May 13, 2025, after a tenure of a little over six months. He is among the few judges who were elevated to the Supreme Court even before becoming the Chief Justice of any high court.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna started his career as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983 and initially practiced in the district courts at the Tis Hazari complex and later moved to the High Court of Delhi and tribunals.
He had a long tenure as the senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department and in 2004 was appointed the standing counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Justice Khanna also appeared for a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an additional public prosecutor and an amicus curiae.
He was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was made a permanent judge in 2006. As a Delhi High Court judge, Justice Khanna also held the position of chairman/judge-in-charge, Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna held the post of chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee from June 17 to December 25, 2023 and is currently the executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal. Justice Sanjiv Khanna has prioritised tackling judicial pendency and prefers to stay away from the limelight even as he believes that judges have to live with the reality that they are currently in an era of social media.
