Supreme Court: As the time approaches for the retirement of current Chief Justice of India, Dr DY Chandrachud, who is due to demit office on 10-11-2024, the procedure for the appointment of his successor has begun. Dr Justice DY Chandrachud took oath as 50th Chief Justice of India on 9-11-2022.
As per media reports, Dr Justice DY Chandrachud has recommended the name of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who is the seniormost Judge of the Supreme Court and as per seniority rule, is next in line to take over as Chief Justice of India.
Know Thy Prospective Chief Justice
Justice Sanjiv Khanna was born on 14-05-1960 to late Justice Dev Raj Khanna, former Judge of Delhi High Court. He completed his schooling at Delhi’s prestigious Modern School, Barakhamba Road. He graduated from the University of Delhi in 1980 and later studied Law from the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi.
*Did You Know? Justice Sanjiv Khanna is the nephew of former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Hans Raj Khanna, who famously delivered the lone dissenting judgement in the ADM, Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla, (1976) 2 SCC 521, popularly known as the “Habeas Corpus case”, in 1976.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He began his practice in the District Courts at Tis Hazari in Delhi and soon shifted his practice to Delhi High Court. His area of practice was wide and varied from writ petitions in public law matters, direct tax appeals, income tax prosecutions, arbitration cases, commercial suits, environment and pollution laws matters, besides medical negligence cases before consumer forums and company law cases before the Company Law Board.
On 24-06-2005 Justice Sanjiv Khanna was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court and became a Permanent Judge of the Delhi High Court on 20-02-2006. Five-member Supreme Court Collegium headed by the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, recommended the elevation of Justice Maheshwari and Justice Khanna to the Supreme Court. Subsequently Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court on 18-1-2019.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna is due to retire on 13-5-2024, which means he will have a tenure of almost 6 months as Chief Justice.
To know more about Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s career and his notable decisions, read: Know Thy Judge | Supreme Court of India: Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
With Inputs from Press