New Delhi: Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgments, was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday. He was administered oath by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He succeeds Justice DY Chandrachud, whose term as CJI ended on Friday. At 64, Justice Khanna will serve a six-month tenure as Chief Justice of India and is expected to retire on May 13, 2025.
The Centre officially notified Justice Khanna’s appointment on October 24, following Chief Justice Chandrachud’s recommendation on October 16. Friday was Justice DY Chandrachud’s last working day as the CJI, and he was given a rousing farewell by judges, lawyers, and staff of the apex court and the high courts.
Justice Sanjiv 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.
He has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgments, including the scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme and upholding the abrogation of Article 370. His notable judgments also include upholding the use of electronic voting machines in elections.
It was the Justice Khanna-led bench, which for the first time, granted interim bail to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, the then Delhi chief minister, to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections in the excise policy scam cases.
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