Who Is Sanjiv Khanna, Next Chief Justice Of India, Part Of Landmark Verdicts On Article 370, Electoral Bonds

The Indian government on Thursday announced the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), effective November 11, 2024. This decision was announced by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, citing the President's authority under Article 124 of the Constitution. Justice Khanna, currently serving as a judge on the Supreme Court, will take over the position following the tenure of the outgoing Chief Justice. This appointment marks a significant moment in the Indian judiciary as Justice Khanna prepares to lead the nation's highest court.

Who Is Sanjiv Khanna?

Sanjiv Khanna, born on May 14, 1960, is a judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former judge of the Delhi High Court, a position also held by his father, Dev Raj Khanna. He is the ex officio executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority and is set to become the 51st Chief Justice of India. 

Khanna completed his schooling at Modern School in New Delhi in 1977, graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, in 1980, and studied law at the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi. His father retired as a judge from the Delhi High Court in 1985, while his mother, Saroj Khanna, was a Hindi lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi.

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Sanjiv Khanna's Career

Sanjiv Khanna enrolled as an Advocate in the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He became an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on June 24, 2005, and was made permanent on February 20, 2006. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on January 18, 2019, and is set to become the 51st Chief Justice of India following the retirement of Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud. 

Khanna is also the nephew of former Supreme Court Justice Hans Raj Khanna, known for propounding the basic structure doctrine and delivering a dissenting judgment in the ADM Jabalpur Shiv Kant Shukla case, and who resigned from the court in protest after being superseded as Chief Justice by M. H. Beg in 1977.

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Significant Judicial Decisions By Justice Sanjiv Khanna

Justice Sanjiv Khanna has made significant contributions to notable judgments. He supported the use of electronic voting machines for their security, declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional, and upheld the Centre's 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370, removing Jammu and Kashmir's special status. 

As executive chairman of the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), he granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, allowing him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections amid the alleged excise policy scam.