CJI Chandrachud recommends Justice Khanna as his successor

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has recommended to the Central Government the name of Justice Sanjiv Khanna — the senior-most judge of the Supreme court — for appointment as the next CJI.

Setting in motion the process for appointing his successor, the government had last month formally requested CJI Chandrachud to name his successor. Justice Chandrachud on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Centre, recommending Justice Khanna’s name as the next CJI in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court judges.

Justice Khanna will succeed Justice Chandrachud, who is set to retire on November 10 after a two-year stint as the CJI. Justice Khanna has been a part of many Constitution Bench verdicts, including the ones upholding the abrogation of Article 370 and the scrapping of electoral bonds scheme. He headed the Bench which upheld the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in elections amid the 2019 Lok Sabha poll.

Appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on January 18, 2019, Justice Khanna will be administered oath of office by the President as the 51st CJI and will have a six-month tenure. He will retire on May 13, 2025.

There has been a convention of the CJI recommending the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as his successor. Only twice, it was not followed — Justice AN Ray was appointed the CJI on April 25, 1973, superseding three senior-most judges; and Justice MH Beg was appointed on January 29, 1977, superseding Justice HR Khanna.

After recommending the name of his successor, CJI Chandrachud can’t hold Collegium meetings to clear names for appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges. Born on 14th May, 1960, Justice Khanna obtained his law degree from the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University and got enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983.