Meet India’s New CJI: Justice Sanjiv Khanna takes oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India; 5 things to know about him

Justice Sanjiv Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday. Khanna has succeeded former CJI DY Chandrachud. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Khanna at 10 am today.

The former CJI, Dhannanjay Yashwant Chandrachud, retired on Sunday. Justice Khanna will serve a six-month tenure as the Chief Justice. 

Here are all the details about India's new Chief Justice.

Who is new CJI Sanjiv Khanna?

-Justice Sanjiv Khanna was born on May 14, 1960, and began his legal career in 1983 after he joined the Delhi Bar Council as an advocate. Justice Khanna holds great experience in a wide range of fields, including constitutional law, taxation, arbitration, commercial law, and environmental law.

-Justice Khanna previously served as senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department, representing the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. In 2004, Justice Khanna was appointed the Standing Counsel (Civil) for the NCT of Delhi.

-Holding immense experience in handling criminal cases, Justice Khanna has appeared and argued in a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an Additional Public Prosecutor and an amicus curie.

-He became a permanent judge in 2006 before being elevated to an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005. During his tenure at the Delhi High Court, Justice Khanna held the position of Chairman/Judge-in-charge at the Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres.

-His next phase after the High Court was the Supreme Court, where he started serving as a judge in 2019. Justice Khanna is among the few judges who have been elevated to the SC even before becoming a Chief Justice of any high court, reported Hindustan Times.