Who is Justice Sanjiv Khanna? All you need to know about SC judge who is set do decide fate of Arvind Kejriwal

On Friday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted an interim bail by the Supreme Court in the money laundering case to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

A Supreme Court bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna is the senior among the two judges and is also the in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) after the incumbent CJI DY Chandrachud retires in November 2024.

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Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court in January 2019. His appointment as a SC judge had sparked a controversy as he was appointed directly to the Supreme Court, despite 33 judges senior to him in age and experience being in line.

He is also related to the SC judge Hans Raj Khanna, who had resigned from his judgeship during the emergency.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s career

Justice Sanjiv Khanna, born on 14 May 1960, holds a law degree from the Delhi University.

In 1983, after enrolling as a lawyer with the Bar Council of Delhi he started his practice in Delhi’s district court. Later, he switched to the Delhi High Court and tribunals.

Khanna has practiced in the fields of constitutional law, direct taxes, arbitration and commercial matters, company law, land laws, environment and pollution laws and medical negligence. 

Prior to becoming the Supreme Court judge, Khanna was a judge in the Delhi High Court for 14 years from 2005.

According to his profile on the Supreme Court website, “He (Khanna) 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.”

This year in April, Justice Khanna had passed a judgment dismissing a petition seeking cross-verification of the votes cast in EVMs (electronic voting machines)  with VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail).

Justice Khanna was also a part of the Supreme Court bench that struck down the constitutional validity of the electoral bonds scheme. 

Kejriwal bail

The SC bench had said Kejriwal, arrested in the money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.

“Kejriwal being granted interim bail after 40 days is no less than a miracle. There is also a divine hint that the prevailing conditions are going to change in the country. His release will pave the way for big changes in the country,” AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj had said at a press conference at the party office.

AAP supporters and leaders welcomed the Supreme Court decision.