Justice Sanjiv Khanna appointed next Chief Justice of India

The President has appointed Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next Chief Justice of India, days after incumbent CJI D Y Chandrachud wrote to the Union Law Ministry, naming him as his successor.

The appointment will come into effect from November 11.

Announcing the same in a post on X, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon’ble President, after consultation with Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th November, 2024.”

Justice Khanna, the second-most senior judge of the Supreme Court, will be the 51st Chief Justice of India and will have a tenure of 6 months in office before retiring on May 13, 2025.

Justice Khanna had enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He initially practiced at the district courts at the Tis Hazari complex and later moved to the High Court of Delhi and tribunals.

He was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was made a permanent judge in 2006. While he was a judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice Khanna also held the position of Chairman/Judge-in-charge, Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres.

He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019. Justice Khanna is among the few who were elevated to the Supreme Court even before becoming a Chief Justice of any High Court.

CJI Chandrachud is set to retire on November 10.