Next Chief Justice of India: Next Chief Justice of India: The next Chief Justice of the country will be Justice Sanjeev Khanna. He will take office on November 11. He will be the 51st Chief Justice of the country. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has announced this. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had recommended the name of the most senior judge of the Supreme Court, Sanjeev Khanna, as his successor. The government had written a letter to the outgoing CJI asking him to send his recommendation as per the Memorandum of Procedure. In fact, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is retiring on November 10 after a tenure of two years.
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He will take oath on November 11, a day after Justice DY Chandrachud attains the age of 65. Justice Chandrachud took over as CJI on November 8, 2022. Justice Khanna’s tenure as Chief Justice will be about six months and he will retire on May 13, 2025.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “Exercising the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President, after consultation with the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th November, 2024.”
Career of Justice Sanjiv Khanna
Justice Sanjeev Khanna registered with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983. It was from here that he started his legal journey. Initially, Justice Khanna used to practice in the district courts located at Tis Hazari.
Justice Sanjeev Khanna practiced in different areas including constitutional law, arbitration, commercial law, company law and criminal law. He worked as a senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department. Later, he took over the responsibility as a standing counsel (civil) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
He also had expertise in criminal law. He argued many cases as an additional public prosecutor in the Delhi High Court. He often served as an amicus curiae to assist the Delhi High Court in important cases. Justice Khanna was promoted as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005. He became a permanent judge in 2006.Â
Major decisions of Justice Sanjeev Khanna
Justice Sanjiv Khanna had not served as Chief Justice in any High Court before his appointment as a judge in the Supreme Court in January 2019.
No Chief Justice Experience: Justice Sanjiv Khanna had not served as Chief Justice of any High Court before his appointment to the Supreme Court in January 2019.
Interim Bail to Kejriwal: Justice Khanna had granted interim bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign during the Lok Sabha elections.
VVPAT Case: Justice Khanna rejected the request for 100% VVPAT verification of votes cast in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Electoral Bond Scheme: He was heading the bench in this case. Justice Khanna was part of a five-judge bench in the electoral bond scheme case. This bench had declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional.
Article 370: Justice Khanna was also part of the five-judge bench that upheld the decision to abrogate Article 370.
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