Justice Sanjiv Khanna sworn in as 51st Chief Justice of India
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New Delhi: Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Khanna at the swearing-in ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, reports PTI.
Justice Khanna, who will serve as CJI for a little over six months, will leave office on May 13, 2025. He succeeded Justice D Y Chandrachud, who demitted office on Sunday after attaining the age of 65.
As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Khanna has been part of the landmark judgments on Article 370, the decriminalisation of adultery, the electoral bonds scheme, the EVM-VVPAT tally, etc.
Earlier, the President chose Justice Khanna as India's next Chief Justice, and just days after retiring, CJI D Y Chandrachud nominated him as his successor in a letter to the Union Law Ministry.
"In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President, after consultation with Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India, with effect from 11th November 2024," Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on X.
Justice Khanna held the post of Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee. He was the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority and a member of the Governing Counsel of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
Before elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Khanna served as a judge in the Delhi High Court till January 2019. As a judge of the Delhi HC, he held the position of Chairman/Judge-in-charge of the Delhi Judicial Academy, the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, and the District Court Mediation Centres.
He had a long tenure as the Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department. In 2004, he was appointed as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for the Delhi government. He had also appeared and argued in a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an Additional Public Prosecutor and as an amicus curie (friend of the court).