Justice Sanjiv Khanna will be the 51st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. CJI DY Chandrachud has recommended his name to the government. CJI Chandrachud will retire on November 10, 2024.
It is a tradition that the current CJI recommends the name of his successor only when he is requested to do so by the Law Ministry.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna's name is in the seniority list after CJI Chandrachud. Therefore, Justice Khanna's name has been put forward. However, his tenure will be only 6 months.
64-year-old Justice Khanna will retire on May 13, 2025. As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Khanna has written 65 judgments. During this time he has been a part of about 275 benches.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna was a judge in the Delhi High Court for 14 years.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna was born on May 14, 1960. He studied law at the Campus Law Center of Delhi University. After graduation, he registered as a lawyer with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983. He was a judge in the Delhi High Court for 14 years before being made a Supreme Court judge. He was promoted to the Supreme Court in 2019.
There was controversy over becoming a Supreme Court judge.
There was a lot of controversy over Justice Khanna being made a Supreme Court judge by ignoring 32 judges. On January 10, 2019, the Collegium decided to promote Justice Maheshwari in his place and Justice Khanna to 33rd place in seniority. After this, President Ram Nath Kovind signed the recommendation.
Two cases of making CJI ignoring seniority, both of the Indira government
In April 1973, AN Ray was made CJI by bypassing three senior judges of the Supreme Court. When Justice Ray retired in 1977, Justice HR Khanna was the most senior. But, Justice MH Beg was chosen in his place. Justice Khanna had given verdicts against the Indira government during the Emergency, Justice Sanjiv Khanna is his nephew.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna's father Justice Devraj Khanna was also a judge of the Delhi High Court. His uncle Justice Hansraj Khanna was also a Supreme Court judge. It was a rare coincidence that Justice Sanjiv Khanna started his first day as a Supreme Court judge from the same courtroom where his uncle, the late Justice HR. Khanna had retired.
Recused himself from hearing the same-gender marriage case
52 review petitions on gay marriage were to be heard in August 2024. But just before the hearing, Justice Sanjiv Khanna recused himself from the case. According to sources, Justice Khanna cited personal reasons behind this.
With Justice Khanna's recusation, it will be necessary to form a new bench of five judges to consider the review petitions. Only after this can they be heard.
In fact, on October 17, 2023, same-gender marriage was refused to be given legal recognition. 52 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court demanding reconsideration of the decision.
Famous cases of Justice Sanjiv Khanna
100% verification of VVPAT - In Association for Democratic Reforms vs Election Commission of India (2024), Justice Khanna's bench rejected the ADR's petition seeking 100% VVPAT verification of votes cast on electronic voting machines. In the judgment, Justice Khanna wrote that he wanted to put on record all the security measures of the Commission to ensure free and fair elections.
Electoral Bond Scheme - In 2024, a bench of five judges declared the Electoral Bond Scheme unconstitutional. Justice Khanna wrote in agreement that if donations are made through banking channels, donors do not have the right to privacy. Their identity is asymmetrically known to the person and the officials of the bank from where the bond is purchased.
Abrogation of Article 370 - In 2023, Justice Khanna concurred in a five-judge bench judgment that upheld the validity of the abrogation of Article 370. He found that Article 370 of the Constitution of India was a feature of federalism, not a sign of sovereignty. Its abrogation does not negate the federal structure.
Power of Supreme Court to grant divorce - In 2023, in the Shilpa Shailesh vs Varun Srinivasan case, Justice Khanna wrote the majority opinion, holding that the Supreme Court has the power to grant divorce directly under Article 142 of the Constitution. He reasoned that the Supreme Court can grant a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage to deliver complete justice.
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