Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has recommended Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court, as his successor. The proposal was made following a formal request by the government last week, which asked the outgoing Chief Justice to nominate his successor as per the Memorandum of Procedure. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is set to retire on November 8 after completing his two-year term.
Upon government approval, Justice Sanjiv Khanna will become the 51st Chief Justice of India, serving a tenure of six months until his retirement on May 13, 2025. His appointment will mark a significant moment in India’s judicial history, given his extensive legal career and influential rulings over the years.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna has been a prominent figure in the Indian judiciary, beginning his legal career in 1983 when he enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi. He initially practiced at the Tis Hazari district courts before moving to the Delhi High Court and various tribunals, where he showcased his legal acumen and commitment. In 2005, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was appointed as an additional judge at the Delhi High Court, becoming a permanent judge the following year. He went on to play key roles in several important legal institutions, serving as Chairman and Judge-in-charge of the Delhi Judicial Academy, the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, and the District Court Mediation Centres.
In 2019, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court, one of the few judges to do so without first serving as Chief Justice of a High Court. Over his career, he has delivered several landmark rulings. Among them was a decision allowing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to receive interim bail, enabling him to campaign during the Lok Sabha elections. In another significant ruling, he granted bail to former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, citing delays in legal proceedings as a valid reason under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Justice Sanjiv Khanna has also made an impact on the electoral process. He led a bench that denied a request for 100% verification of votes cast on electronic voting machines (EVMs) using Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), affirming the Election Commission’s measures for vote accuracy. Recently, he was part of a five-judge bench that declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional, ruling that anonymous donations through the bonds violated the public’s right to information.
Additionally, Justice Sanjiv Khanna supported the upholding of the abrogation of Article 370, emphasizing that while the provision was a unique aspect of India’s federal structure, it did not grant sovereignty to Jammu and Kashmir.
