Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take oath as India’s 51st Chief Justice on Monday at Rashtrapati Bhavan, following the retirement of his predecessor, Justice DY Chandrachud.
Justice Khanna was recommended by Justice Chandrachud, who resigned on November 10 at the age of 65. He will remain as Chief Justice until May 13 of next year.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna was born on May 14, 1960, and studied law at Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre. Prior to his appointment as a Delhi High Court judge, he was a third-generation lawyer. He was also the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
Justice Khanna was appointed to the Supreme Court in January 2019. During his term as a high court judge, he presided over numerous politically charged cases, including the hearing of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail petitions in the liquor policy case.
In a groundbreaking judgment, Justice Khanna’s bench granted Kejriwal temporary release in May, expressly for campaigning during the Lok Sabha elections. The case was transferred to a bigger court, and the former Delhi chief minister was granted temporary release again in July, to investigate the necessity for new reasons for arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to prevent the legislation from being misused.
Justice Khanna has also participated to various decisions as a member of the Constitution Bench, including the repeal of Article 370 and the issue involving electoral bonds.
Justice Khanna’s bench also addressed problems concerning electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter verified paper audit trails (VVPATs).
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Source: India Today
