New Delhi. Supreme Court Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is going to retire on November 8. Before his retirement, Justice Chandrachud has made important recommendations to the Central Government. Justice Chandrachud’s recommendation is that after him, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court, should be made the Chief Justice. Generally, the Central Government accepts the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice for the post of Chief Justice. In such a situation, it is certain that Sanjeev Khanna will now become the 51st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. However, he will remain in this post till 13 May 2025 i.e. only for 6 months.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna was born on 14 May 1960 in Delhi. His father Devraj Khanna was also a judge in Delhi High Court. Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s uncle Hansraj Khanna was a judge in the Supreme Court. In the case of ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla, Justice Hansraj Khanna had given a decision different from the majority and came into discussion. Justice Sanjeev Khanna did his schooling from Modern School, Delhi. Then after graduation from Delhi University in 1980, he studied law from Campus Law Centre. Justice Sanjeev Khanna started working as a lawyer in 1983. Justice Sanjeev Khanna is considered an expert in public law and tax laws. He was a lawyer for the Delhi Government and also held the post of Standing Counsel of the Income Tax Department.
Justice Sanjeev Khanna became Additional Judge in Delhi High Court on 24 June 2005. He became a permanent judge on 20 February 2006. In the year 2018, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Justice Sanjeev Khanna to be made a Supreme Court judge. Sanjeev Khanna is the judge of the Supreme Court since 18 January 2019. The special thing is that Justice Sanjeev Khanna came to the Supreme Court without being the Chief Justice of any High Court. Justice Sanjeev Khanna was also on the Supreme Court bench which had declared electoral bonds unconstitutional. Apart from this, Justice Sanjeev Khanna along with Justice Bela Trivedi also heard many important cases related to ED arrest in the bench. Justice Sanjeev Khanna did not consider Article 370 as a sign of sovereignty and said that its removal would not affect the federal structure. Justice Sanjeev Khanna had also rejected the petition for 100 percent verification of votes and VVPAT slips. He had written in the majority opinion in a case in 2023 that the Supreme Court has the right to grant divorce under Article 142 of the Constitution. Justice Sanjeev Khanna had recused himself from hearing the petitions in the gay marriage case.