Justice Sanjiv Khanna is set to be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, after the retirement of his predecessor, Justice DY Chandrachud.
Justice Khanna’s name was put forward by Justice Chandrachud, who stepped down from the position on November 10, at the age of 65. He will hold the position of Chief Justice until May 13 of the following year.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, born on May 14, 1960, pursued his legal studies at Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre. He was a lawyer from a third generation prior to his appointment as a judge of the Delhi High Court. He additionally held the position of executive chairman at the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA).
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Justice Khanna took office in the Supreme Court in January 2019. Throughout his time as a high court judge, he presided over the benches of numerous politically charged cases, including considering the bail requests of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy matter.
In a unique ruling, Justice Khanna’s bench provided interim bail to Kejriwal in May, specifically for election campaigning during the Lok Sabha elections. The bench sent the case to a larger panel and once more granted interim bail to the former Delhi chief minister in July to assess the necessity for further grounds for arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to avoid the law’s misuse.
Justice Khanna, as a member of the Constitution Bench, has also played a role in various rulings, such as the abrogation of Article 370 and the electoral bonds matter.
Justice Khanna’s bench also addressed matters concerning the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs).
