Sanjiv Khanna, born on 14 May 1960: is appointed as the new Chief Justice of India, who will be the 51st Chief Justice of this country. He will take oath on 11 November 2024 after the retirement of Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud. He is an ex-officio Patron-in-Chief of the National Legal Services Authority and was also a judge of the Delhi High Court.
Childhood and Education
Khanna graduated from Modern School, New Delhi, in 1977 and then graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1980. He was a law graduate of Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
He comes from a very respectable legal family. His father was a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, retired in 1985, whereas his mother, Saroj Khanna, was a Hindi lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi. His uncle is the great Justice Hans Raj Khanna, former sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India. Justice Hans Raj Khanna is best known for his dissent in ADM Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla and for propounding the “basic structure doctrine” in 1973.
Career Path
Justice Sanjiv Khanna began his career in law in 1983, when he enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi. He initially practiced at the District Courts in Tis Hazari, Delhi, before moving on to the Delhi High Court, where his work covered a wide range of legal areas, from writ petitions to income tax cases, arbitration, environmental laws, and medical negligence.
Khanna’s role as Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department and his representation of the Delhi government in various legal matters further showcased his legal versatility. His appointment as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and his later confirmation as a Permanent Judge in 2006 marked the beginning of his judicial career.
From Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court
Justice Khanna was elevated directly from his parent Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court of India on January 18, 2019. This is a rare occurrence, as only six judges have been directly elevated to the Supreme Court from their parent High Courts since 1997.
His elevation was recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium led by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, after a thorough review of seniority and qualifications. His appointment was made official after other potential candidates, such as Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, were also considered.
Chief Justice of India, Justice Khanna is set to lead under an emphasis of maintaining constitutional integrity, pursuit of transparency, and protection of judicial independence. Throughout his career, he had always demonstrated the commitment to deliver judgment that was fair and just, to protect the constitution as well as the democratic ideology.
What does the Future Hold for Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna?
As Justice Khanna is found to be much better suited for the highest judiciary in the coming months, strengthening core values such as democracy, transparency, and accountability stands to come to the forefront as a new chapter of judicial leadership begins.
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