Key Judgments Of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, In Line To Be Next Chief Justice

During his tenure in the Supreme Court, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was a part of the Constitution Bench constituted for many important cases, including the Electoral Bond Scheme, the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail.

Born in a family of legal luminaries on May 14, 1960, he is the son of Delhi High Court judge Justice Devraj Khanna and nephew of senior Supreme Court judge Hansraj Khanna. He completed his schooling from Modern School, Barakhamba Road in Delhi and went on to complete his graduation from the University of Delhi in 1980. He then went  on to pursue his law degree from DU's Campus Law Center.

Justice Hansraj Khanna had delivered the only dissenting judgment in the "Habeas Corpus case" of Additional District Magistrate, Jabalpur vs Shivkant Shukla in 1976. Following this, the then Indira Gandhi government bypassed the seniority of four judges including the Justice Hansraj Khanna's and appointed Justice MH Beg as the Chief Justice of the country in January 1977.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna was promoted to the Supreme Court directly from his parent court - the Delhi High Court. Since 1997, only six judges have been promoted from their parent High Court and appointed as judges in the Supreme Court. They include Justice Syed Abdul Nazeer, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta, Justice GP Mathur, Justice Ruma Pal and Justice SS Qadri.

Enrolled as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983, Sanjiv Khanna initially practised in the District Court at Delhi's Tis Hazari Complex and later in the Delhi High Court and tribunals in diverse fields, like constitutional law, direct taxation, arbitration.

He served a long tenure as Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department along with practice in areas such as Commercial Law, Company Law, Land Law, Environmental Law and Medical Negligence. In 2004, he was appointed as Standing Counsel for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi.

He served as an Additional Public Prosecutor and Amicus Curiae in many criminal cases in Delhi High Court. In 2005, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was promoted as Additional Judge of Delhi High Court, and was appointed a permanent judge in 2006.

While being a judge of Delhi High Court, he held the post of Chairman/Judge-in-Charge of Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and District Court Arbitration Centre.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna was promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on January 18, 2019. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, after taking oath as a judge in the Supreme Court, started his first day from the same court room from where his uncle Justice Hansraj Khanna had resigned and retired. The latter's photo is also hung in the courtroom.

As per the rule of seniority, Justice Khanna will serve as the 51st CJI from November 10 for a period of six months. He will serve as CJI till May 13, 2025, a day before his 65th birthday.

He held the post of Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee from June 17, 2023 to December 25, 2023. He is currently the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority and Member of Governing Council of National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.