Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgments such as scrapping the Electoral Bonds scheme, sanctity of EVMs and upholding abrogation of Article 370, will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Monday. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in a ceremony scheduled at 10 am. His term will last until May 13, 2025.

Hailing from an illustrious Delhi-based family, Justice Khanna is the son of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Dev Raj Khanna and the nephew of renowned judge Justice HR Khanna, who was superseded from Chief Justice post during Indira regime and later became Law Minister. Justice HR Khanna, the uncle of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, hit the headlines by resigning in 1976 after he wrote a dissenting verdict in the infamous ADM Jabalpur case during the Emergency.

The majority verdict of a Constitution Bench, upholding the abrogation of fundamental rights during the Emergency, was considered a “black spot” on the judiciary. Justice HR Khanna declared the move unconstitutional and against the rule of law and paid a price as the then Union  government superseded him and made Justice MH Beg the next CJI.

The Centre officially notified Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s appointment on October 24 following Chief Justice Chandrachud’s recommendation on October 16. Friday was the last working day of Justice Chandrachud as the CJI and he was given a rousing farewell by judges, lawyers and staff of the apex court and the high courts. It was the Justice Khanna-led Bench, which for the first time, granted interim bail to Kejriwal, the then chief minister, till June 1 to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections in the excise policy scam cases.

 Born on May 14, 1960, he studied law at the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University. He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983 and initially practised in the District Courts at the Tis Hazari complex here and later, in the Delhi High Court. He had a long tenure as the senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department. 

In 2004, he was appointed as the standing counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Justice Khanna had also argued in a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an additional public prosecutor and as an amicus curiae.