CJI DY Chandrachud is set to retire in November this year, and following tradition, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court typically assumes the position of Chief Justice of India. Based on seniority, Justice Sanjiv Khanna is next in line to become the CJI.

As per the Constitution of India, the Chief Justice retires upon reaching the age of 65, meaning Justice Khanna, if appointed, will serve until his retirement in May 2025, giving him a tenure of approximately six months.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna, born on May 14, 1960, in New Delhi, comes from a family with a strong academic and legal background. His father, Justice Dev Raj Khanna, served as a judge of the Delhi High Court, while his mother, Mrs. Saroj Khanna, was a Hindi lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. Justice Sanjiv Khanna completed his schooling at Modern School, New Delhi, graduating in 1977. He then pursued his undergraduate studies at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, and later went on to study law at the Campus Law Centre (CLC), Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna hails from a distinguished family of lawyers and judges. While his father retired as a Delhi High Court judge, his uncle, Justice Hans Raj Khanna, was a notable judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Hans Raj Khanna is renowned for his courageous dissenting judgment in the ADM Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla case, commonly known as the Habeas Corpus Case. His dissent, asserting the right to life and liberty during the Emergency, led to his supersession for the post of Chief Justice of India by Justice MH Beg, after which he resigned in protest in 1977.

As for Justice Sanjiv Khanna, he enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in June 2005 and became a permanent judge in February 2006. In January 2019, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India.

As an advocate, Justice Sanjiv Khanna practiced across a wide range of legal fields, including constitutional law, arbitration and commercial matters, direct taxes, company and land law, pollution laws, and medical negligence cases. His diverse expertise contributed to his distinguished legal career before his elevation to the judiciary.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna has also been part of multiple cases that were taken up by the five-judge Constitution Bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud.

According to the official website of the Supreme Court, “He had also argued a number of criminal cases in the Delhi High Court as an Additional Public Prosecutor, and on appointment by the Court as an amicus curia.”