By Web Desk
New Delhi: At a ceremony held today in the Ganatantra Mandap, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. He made and subscribed to the oath of office before the President Droupadi Murmu
Justice Khanna, who will retire on May 31, 2025, will serve as Chief Justice for a period of six months.
The recommendation for Justice Khanna’s appointment was made by the outgoing Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.
Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court in January 2019. Prior to that, he served as a judge of the Delhi High Court for 14 years.
He enrolled as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983 and initially practiced at the Tis Hazari District Courts. Later, he moved to the Delhi High Court and various tribunals. Justice Khanna also served as the Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department and was appointed as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for Delhi in 2004.
During his tenure in the Delhi High Court, Justice Khanna appeared and argued in several criminal cases as an Additional Public Prosecutor and Amicus Curiae. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and made a permanent Judge in 2006. During his time at the Delhi High Court, he also served as the Chairman/ Judge-in-Charge of the Delhi Judicial Academy, the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, and the District Court Mediation Centres.
Justice Khanna was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019. He is one of the few judges who were appointed directly to the Supreme Court without having been the Chief Justice of any High Court beforehand. From June 17 to December 25, 2023, he served as the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. He is currently also the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority and a member of the Governing Council of the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal.
