Sanjiv Khanna oath-taking ceremony: Sanjiv Khanna on Monday took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI), succeeding outgoing CJI DY Chandrachud, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The oath was administered by President Droupadi Murmu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reached the Rashtrapati Bhavan to take part in the oath-taking ceremony alongside Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
Justice Khanna will serve a six-month tenure as the Chief Justice of India and is expected to retire on May 13, 2025.
Former CJI DY Chandrachud, meanwhile, got emotional on his last working day. Reflecting on his tenure, he said, “There is no greater feeling than being able to serve those in need.” He was also present at the swearing-in ceremony.
About CJI Sanjiv Khanna
CJI Sanjiv Khanna, 64, is the son of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Dev Raj Khanna and the nephew of prominent former Supreme Court judge H R Khanna.
He started his legal career in 1983 as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council. He was elevated to the Delhi High Court in 2005 and to the Supreme Court in 2019.
Justice Khanna has been part of several landmark judgments — including upholding the sanctity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and the scrapping of Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status.
A bench he led declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, underscoring the need for transparency in political funding. He was also part of the bench that granted interim bail to then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the Lok Sabha election, enabling him to campaign for the May0June Lok Sabha election this year.