CJI Chandrachud writes to Centre, names Justice Sanjiv Khanna as his successor
CJI Chandrachud writes to Centre, names Justice Sanjiv Khanna as his successor
M.U.H
17/10/202427
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has written to the Union Law Ministry, naming Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the second-most senior judge of the Supreme Court, as his successor.
When approved by the government, Justice Khanna will be the 51st Chief Justice of India and will have a tenure of 6 months in office before retiring on May 13, 2025.
With CJI Chandrachud set to retire on November 10, the government, as per convention, had written to him last week requesting him to name his successor in office.
Justice Khanna had enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He initially practiced at 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 Standing Counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
He had also appeared and argued in a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an Additional Public Prosecutor and an amicus curie.
He was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was made a permanent judge in 2006. While he was a judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice Khanna also held the position of Chairman/Judge-in-charge, Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres.
He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019. Justice Khanna is among the few who were elevated to the Supreme Court even before becoming a Chief Justice of any High Court.
He held the post of Chairman, Supreme Court Legal Service Committee, from June 17 2023 till December 25, 2023 and is presently the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority, and a member of the Governing Counsel of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
As a judge of the apex court, Justice Khanna has been a part of several important rulings.
In the case against a journalist over remarks during a TV show, a Bench presided by his said that Article 19(1)(a) cannot be pressed into service for defeating the fundamental right guaranteed by Article 21 as if one claims to right to speech, the others have the right to listen or decline to listen, and declined to quash the FIR.
Justice Khanna, who was part of the three-judge Bench dealing with petitions challenging the clearance for the Central Vista redevelopment project, had delivered a dissenting view in the matter. He has also been part of Constitution Bench rulings, like the one upholding the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, and that striking down the 2018 electoral bonds scheme.