Sanjiv Khanna swearing-in
Credit: X/@MIB_India
New Delhi: Supreme Court's senior most judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna was on Monday sworn in as the Chief Justice of India.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Khanna in a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Union Ministers, along with sitting and former Supreme Court judges were among those who were present on the occasion.
Former CJI D Y Chandrachud also attended the brief ceremony.
Justice Khanna is the 51 st Chief Justice of India. He is the senior most judge in the Supreme Court.
Incumbent CJI D Y Chandrachud demitted office on Sunday after over two years term.
Justice Khanna's tenure would last till May 13, 2025.
A notification on appointment of Justice Khanna as the CJI was issued by the Law and Justice Ministry on October 24.
Justice Khanna has been a part of several important rulings, including on dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution.
He was part of a bench, which gave a go-ahead to the Central Vista Project. A bench presided over by him gave interim bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an Enforcement Directorate case in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
He was also part of the five-judge bench which struck down the 2018 electoral bonds scheme.
Justice Khanna enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He initially practised in the district courts at the Tis Hazari complex, Delhi, and later, in the High Court of Delhi and tribunals in fields as diverse as constitutional law, direct taxation, arbitration, commercial law, company law, land law, environmental law and medical negligence.
He also had a long tenure as the senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department. In 2004, he was appointed as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Justice Khanna was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was made a permanent judge in 2006.
As a judge of the Delhi High Court, he held the position of chairman/judge-in-charge, Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres. He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019. He held the post of chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee, from June 17, 2023 till December 25, 2023.