At a ceremony held on 11th November 2024 in the Ganatantra Mandap, Rashtrapati Bhavan; Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. He subscribed to the oath of office before the President of India. President Droupadi Murmu administered an oath to Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the New Chief Justice of India.
Expressing deep honor at leading the judiciary as a crucial pillar of democracy, he remarked: “The judiciary is a distinct and independent component of our governance system, entrusted by the Constitution with the role of constitutional guardian, protector of Fundamental Rights, and the duty of delivering justice.”
Highlighting the core principles guiding the justice system, he added, “Delivering justice requires equal treatment, fair opportunities for success irrespective of status, wealth, or power, and unbiased adjudication.” Justice Khanna emphasized that this responsibility underpins the judiciary’s commitment to protecting citizens’ rights and resolving disputes. He stated, “It is our constitutional duty to ensure all citizens have accessible justice in our nation.”
Making judgments comprehensible to the citizens and promoting mediation will be the priorities of the newly sworn-in Chief Justice of India Justice Sanjiv Khanna. Addressing current challenges, the Chief Justice stressed the need to reduce case backlogs, make litigation more affordable and accessible, and simplify complex legal procedures.
Justice Khanna (born 14 May 1960) is an Indian jurist currently serving as the Chief Justice of India. He is the ex officio Patron-in-Chief of National Legal Services Authority and the de facto Chancellor of the National Law School of India University. He has also served as a judge at the Delhi High Court.
After graduating with an LLB degree from Delhi University in 1983, Justice Khanna practiced at the Delhi High Court for almost 23 years before being elevated as an Additional Judge in 2005. In February 2006, he was made a permanent judge.
Justice Khanna, who served as a Supreme Court judge since January 2019, has been part of several landmark judgments such as upholding the sanctity of EVMs, scrapping the electoral bonds scheme, upholding the abrogation of Article 370 and the grant of interim bail to former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
The Supreme Court of India is the highest court in the country. The maximum possible strength is 34. According to the Constitution of India, the judges of the Supreme Court must retire at the age of 65. There are currently 32 judges (including the Chief Justice) in the Supreme Court of India.
In August 2021, then President Ram Nath Kovind signed the warrant of appointments of nine judges, including three women, to the Supreme Court, taking the total number of judges to 33, against the sanctioned strength of 34. It was also the first instance that nine judges to the Supreme Court took oath at once. Justice Sanjiv Khanna is the 51st and current Chief Justice of India.
With a citizen-focused vision, he outlined plans to make courts more approachable and user-friendly, adopting a responsive, feedback-driven approach. Additionally, the Chief Justice highlighted the importance of reforming criminal case management, aiming to reduce trial durations through systematic measures, to ensure the legal process remains straightforward and accessible for all citizens.
Ever since he was elevated as a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Khanna has been a part of several important rulings, including ones on the abrogation of Article 370 and the electoral bonds scheme. His six-month tenure as India’s 51st Chief Justice will be no less hectic, with critical issues like the constitutionality of sedition and marital rape pending before the Supreme Court.
Hailing from a family of lawyers, Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court from the Delhi High Court on January 18, 2019. He has authored over 115 judgments. Notably, he is among a handful of judges who were elevated to the top court before becoming the Chief Justice of any High Court in the country.
Among the first major cases he ruled on, was whether the Right to Information Act (RTI) was applicable to the office of the CJI. Justice Khanna ruled in its favor and wrote the majority judgment, holding that judicial independence doesn’t necessarily oppose the right to information.
In 2021, Justice Sanjiv Khanna wrote the dissenting judgement to hold that requisite processes were not followed for the Central Vista project. The project includes the redevelopment of the administrative area in Lutyens’ Delhi, the power corridor of India. He also authored the judgment on behalf of a five-judge bench that held that the Supreme Court could use its powers under the Constitution’s Article 142 to grant divorce on the ground of an “irretrievable breakdown” of marriage.
Justice Khanna was also part of the bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Perhaps, the most high-profile case that he was a part of was the validity of the electoral bond scheme, which allowed anonymous donations to political parties. In his concurring judgment as part of the Constitution bench that struck down the scheme, Justice Khanna said curtailing black money in the electoral process had no connection or relationship with concealment of the identity of the donor.
The year 2024 has been noteworthy for Justice Khanna as he has been part of the benches that have delivered important judgements pertaining to elections, bail and personal liberty.
Earlier this year, he was part of a division bench that rejected a plea for 100% verification of votes through VVPAT. In the second half of the year, Justice Khanna dealt with politically sensitive matters regarding the bail applications of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in the liquor policy case.
In May, the Justice Khanna-led bench granted a three-week bail to Arvind Kejriwal to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls in a one-of-its-first-kind order. Two months later, the bench granted interim bail to the AAP supremo in the ED case, noting that he “suffered incarceration for over 90 days”.
Among the first of the major cases that are likely to come up before CJI Khanna are petitions challenging the marital rape exception in criminal law.
The top court is also dealing with the case of the brutal rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College. The court had set up a national task force to suggest protocols for the security of doctors and healthcare workers. The body will submit its report soon, and it remains to be seen what steps CJI Khanna suggests.
Justice Khanna is also likely to constitute benches to hear other cases like the constitutionality of the Election Commission Appointments Act, the validity of the Bihar caste census, and the scope of the “need and necessity” of arrest in PMLA cases.
Proceeding with ensuring process of law not grueling for citizens, CJI Sanjiv Khanna lists top priorities in next 6 months. He aims to work on reducing trial duration through adoption of a systematic approach, and positioning justice delivery mechanism. The Chief Justice has further underscored the need for focused reforms on criminal case management.
CJI Khanna has highlighted the need to tackle case backlogs, making litigation affordable and accessible, and a need for simplifying complex legal procedures. With a citizen centric agenda, the Chief Justice further outlined his vision to make courts approachable and user friendly. He aims to adopt a self-evaluative approach which is receptive and responsive to feedback in its working.
Expressing immense honour in heading the third wing of democracy, he emphasized – “Judiciary is an integral, yet distinct and independent part of the governance system”. “The Constitution trusts upon us the role of constitutional guardian, protector of Fundamental Rights, and responsibility to fulfill the important task of being service provider of justice”.
CJI Khanna further stated that Justice delivery framework in terms of providing equal treatment necessitates fair opportunity to succeed to all, regardless of status, wealth or power, and a just and unbiased adjudication. “These mark our core principles”
“The responsibility entrusted upon us affirms our commitment as protectors of citizens’ rights and as dispute resolvers. It is our constitutional duty to ensure easy access to justice to all citizens of our great nation.”, the Chief Justice of India said.
He is indeed a ‘Candid Judge with Sharp Eye’. He also has a “No to Oral Mentioning for Urgent Matters, asks Lawyers to write E-Mails”.
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