Who is Justice Sanjiv Khanna, CJI Chandrachud's proposed successor

Justice Sanjiv Khanna, a Supreme Court judge since January 2019, has been formally proposed to succeed D Y Chandrachud as the new Chief Justice of India on Thursday by the current CJI.

Let's take a look at the career of the man poised to head the top court.

Born in May 1960, Justice Khanna enrolled into the Bar Council of Delhi as an advocate in 1983. Beginning with District Courts at the Tis Hazari complex in Delhi, he worked his way up to the Delhi High Court.

He was also part of various tribunals involving constitutional law, direct taxation, arbitration, commercial law, company law, land law, environmental law and medical negligence. Additionally, he held the post of Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department for a long period.

In 2004, Justice Khanna was appointed as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for Delhi. During his tenure there, he also took up a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an Additional Public Prosecutor and as an amicus curie.

In 2005, he was appointed as an additional judge in the Delhi High Court, and was made a permanent judge in 2006. During his tenure as a High Court judge, Justice Khanna was also the Chairman/Judge-in-charge of Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre and the District Court Mediation Centres.

On January 18, 2019, Justice Khanna was elevated to the Supreme Court, where he currently serves. During his tenure there, he held the post of Chairman, the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee from June 2023 to December 2023.

Currently, he is the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority and a member of the Governing Counsel of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.

Justice Khanna is due to retire in May 2025. If appointed, he will succeed the current Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, in November 2024, and serve as CJI for six months.