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Sanjiv Khanna

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Sanjiv Khanna
Official portrait, 2019
51st Chief Justice of India
Assumed office
11 November 2024
Appointed byDroupadi Murmu
Preceded byDhananjaya Y. Chandrachud
Judge of Supreme Court of India
In office
18 January 2019 – 10 November 2024
Nominated byRanjan Gogoi
Appointed byRam Nath Kovind
Judge of Delhi High Court
In office
24 June 2005 – 17 January 2019
Nominated byRamesh Chandra Lahoti
Appointed byA P J Abdul Kalam
Personal details
Born (1960-05-14) 14 May 1960 (age 64)
New Delhi, India
RelationsHans Raj Khanna (uncle)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Delhi

Sanjiv Khanna (born 14 May 1960) is an Indian jurist currently serving as the 51st Chief Justice of India.[1] He is the ex officio Patron-in-Chief of the National Legal Services Authority and the de facto Chancellor of the National Law School of India University.[2] He has also served as a judge at the Delhi High Court.

Early life and education

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Khanna completed his schooling from Modern School (New Delhi) in the year 1977. After graduating from St. Stephen's College, Delhi in the year 1980, he studied Law at Campus Law Centre of the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi in the same batch as Justice Indu Malhotra. His father Justice Dev Raj Khanna retired as a judge from Delhi High Court in 1985 and his mother Saroj Khanna worked as a Hindi lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi.[3]

Khanna's uncle was Hans Raj Khanna, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.[4] Hans Raj, who propounded the basic structure doctrine in 1973 and famously delivered the lone dissenting judgement in the ADM Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla case, popularly known as the Habeas Corpus case, in 1976 and was superseded to the office of the Chief Justice of India by M. H. Beg at the behest of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, protesting which he resigned from the court in early 1977.[5][6][7]

Career

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Khanna was enrolled as an Advocate in the Bar Council of Delhi in the year 1983. In 2004, he also served as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and before this appointment, he was working as the Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department.[8]

On 24 June 2005, he was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court and made permanent on 20 February 2006. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on 18 January 2019. Khanna was elevated despite there being 32 High Court judges more senior than him.[9] His elevation sparked controversy within judicial circles; however, his appoint was approved by the Government of India.[9]

President Droupadi Murmu administering the oath of office to Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the Chief Justice of India.

On 17 October 2024, in accordance with the convention, outgoing Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud recommended the name of Justice Khanna as the next Chief Justice to the Ministry of Law and Justice.[10] Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India after the retirement of Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud on 11 November 2024 during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.[11][12]

Personal life

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Khanna is married and has two children.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Sanjiv Khanna". Supreme Court Observer. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Justice Sanjiv Khanna to take oath as Chief Justice of India on November 11, 2024". The Hindu. 24 October 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Sanjiv Khanna (51st CJ India) - Biography Points". 13 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  4. ^ Vishwanath, Apurva (24 October 2024). "Justice Sanjiv Khanna appointed next Chief Justice of India, will enter office Nov 11". The Indian Express. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  5. ^ "CJ & Sitting Judges". Delhi High Court. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  6. ^ "SC recommends names of Justices Maheshwari, Sanjiv Khanna as top court judges". Samanwaya Rautray. The Economic Times. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  7. ^ "7 Next CJIs". Supreme Court Observer. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  8. ^ Naaz, Fareha (25 October 2024). "Justice Sanjiv Khanna's journey: Modern School, St Stephen's alumni to becoming India's next Chief Justice". Mint. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b Rajagopal, Krishnadas (26 October 2024). "Sanjiv Khanna: A servant of justice". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  10. ^ "CJI Chandrachud names Justice Sanjiv Khanna as successor". The Hindu. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  11. ^ Bhargava, Ashish Kumar (30 October 2024). "Parents Of Sanjiv Khanna, Next Chief Justice Of India, Wanted Him To Be Chartered Accountant". NDTV. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Justice Sanjiv Khanna takes oath as 51st Chief Justice of India". The Indian Express. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  13. ^ Mahapatra, Dhananjay (30 October 2024). "As CJI, Justice Khanna to focus on paring pendency". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 November 2024.