President Draupadi Murmu on Monday (11.11.2024) administered the oath of the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He succeeds Justice DY Chandrachud, who retired on Sunday (10.11.2024). Justice Khanna is the 51st Chief Justice of India and he will have a nearly seven months term till May 13, 2025.
Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court from the Delhi High Court on January 18, 2019. He started legal practice in Delhi in 1983, after completing his law degree at Delhi University. Over the years, he handled cases across various fields, including constitutional, direct taxation, arbitration, commercial, company, land and environmental laws in the Delhi High Court.
In his career as a lawyer, he served as Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. He had appeared as Additional Public Prosecutor and amicus curiae in the Delhi High Court.
He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and made a Permanent Judge in 2006.
He was one of the few judges elevated to the Supreme Court directly from his parent High Court. He had never functioned as a Chief Justice of a State High Court. He had superceded 32 High Court judges ahead of him in seniority to be appointed apex court judge.
