Justice Khanna sworn in as Chief Justice of India

New Delhi: Justice Sanjiv Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday, succeeding Justice D Y Chandrachud. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Khanna during a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Elevated as a Supreme Court judge on January 18, 2019, Justice Khanna will superannuate on May 13, 2025, after a tenure of a little over six months. He is among a few judges who were elevated to the Supreme Court even before becoming the Chief Justice of any High Court. Justice Khanna started his career as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983 and initially practiced in 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 the standing counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Justice Khanna also appeared for a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an additional public prosecutor and an amicus curiae. Justice Khanna held the post of chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee from June 17 to December 25, 2023 and is currently the executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.

He is the nephew of former apex court judge Justice H R Khanna, who was part of the landmark verdict propounding the basic structure doctrine in the Kesavananda Bharati case of 1973.