Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has proposed the name of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next Chief Justice of India. The CJI, who will retire from service next month, has written to the Centre proposing Justice Khanna's name as his successor.
Once the Centre clears his recommendation, Justice Khanna will become the 51st Chief Justice of India for another seven months, till his retirement on May 13, 2025. Judges of the Supreme Court retire by the age of 65 and CJI Chandrachud is demitting office on November 10, 2024.
Who is Justice Sanjiv Khanna?
Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court from the Delhi High Court in January 2019.
The current second senior judge at India's Apex Court, Justice Khanna began his career as an advocate in 1983, enrolling on the Bar Council of Delhi. He became a judge at the District Courts at the Tis Hazari complex in Delhi before working his way up to the Delhi High Court.
He has also served as the Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department and Standing Counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Justice Khanna has also appeared as an Additional Public Prosecutor and an amicus curie in criminal cases at the Delhi High Court.
He became additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and a permanent judge in 2006.
Justice Khanna's verdicts
Justice Khanna was also part of the bench that ruled in favour of the government in the Article 370 abrogation. He has also struck down the electoral bonds scheme.
It was Khanna's bench that held that the Supreme Court can have the discretion to dissolve the marriage by passing a decree of divorce by mutual consent on the grounds of 'irretrievable breakdown' by invoking powers under Article 142.
Justice Khanna was also part of the five-judge Constitution Bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, (CJ) and NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud and Deepak Gupta who upheld the 2010 landmark judgment of the Delhi High Court bringing the Chief Justice of India’s office under Right to Information.