NEW DELHI: Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take the oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office to Justice Khanna at 10 am.
He will succeed Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who retired on Sunday.
At 64, Justice Khanna will serve a six-month tenure as Chief Justice of India and is expected to retire on May 13, 2025.
Justice Khanna is the son of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Dev Raj Khanna and the nephew of former Supreme Court judge HR Khanna. He has been part of several landmark judgments, including upholding the sanctity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), declaring the Electoral Bonds scheme unconstitutional, supporting the abrogation of Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status, and granting interim bail to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The Centre officially notified Justice Khanna’s appointment on October 24, following Chief Justice Chandrachud’s recommendation on October 16.
Born on May 14, 1960, Justice Khanna enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He initially practised at the district courts at the Tis Hazari complex, later moving to the Delhi High Court and tribunals. He had a long tenure as the senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department. In 2004, he was appointed the standing counsel (civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
He was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and became a permanent judge in 2006. Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019. (ANI)