Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has nominated Justice Sanjiv Khanna as his successor. Justice Khanna, currently the senior-most judge after the CJI, is expected to serve from November 2024 to May 2025.
In a significant development, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has recommended the name of the Supreme Court's most senior judge, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, as his successor, sources said on Wednesday. They claimed that the outgoing CJI received a letter from the central government last Friday requesting that he make the proposal in compliance with the Memorandum of Procedure.
Notably, after two years as Chief Justice of India, CJI Chandrachud is scheduled to retire on November 10. On December 17, 2022, he became India's 50th Chief Justice after taking the oath of office. Justice Chandrachud has praised the Mahatma Gandhi monument at the Supreme Court after taking the oath. From February 22, 1978, until July 11, 1985, his father, YV Chandrachud, served as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for the longest period of time.
It is anticipated that Justice Sanjiv Khanna would hold the position of Chief Justice of India from November 10, 2024, until May 13, 2025. Since being promoted to the highest court in January 2019, Justice Khanna has had a distinguished judicial career. He is currently the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court after the Chief Justice of India. From February 22, 1978, until July 11, 1985, his father, YV Chandrachud, served as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for the longest period of time.
It is anticipated that Justice Sanjiv Khanna would hold the position of Chief Justice of India from November 10, 2024, until May 13, 2025. Since being promoted to the highest court in January 2019, Justice Khanna has had a distinguished judicial career. He is currently the seniormost judge in the Supreme Court after the Chief Justice of India.
His appointment to the Supreme Court stirred controversy, as he bypassed 33 senior judges in both age and experience. However, the issue subsided within a few months of his appointment. Justice Khanna, a nephew of the renowned Justice Hans Raj Khanna, who resigned during the Emergency in protest, has made significant contributions during his judicial tenure.
Khanna also spent 14 years as a judge in the Delhi High Court prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court. He has written several important rulings over the last 20 years and is renowned for his knowledge of taxation and business law. Khanna, who was born on May 14, 1960, graduated from Delhi University with a law degree and started practicing in 1983. He began working on constitutional law, arbitration, direct taxation, corporate law, property legislation, and environmental law, among other topics, in Delhi's district courts before moving on to the Delhi High Court and tribunals.
In 2005, he was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi HC and made permanent in 2006, the SC website said. As a judge in that high court, he has held the position of chairman/judge-in-charge of the Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres.
Justice Khanna is reportedly among the few judges elevated to the SC even before becoming a Chief Justice of any high court. He has been part of a number of important rulings as a judge of the top court.