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The 51st Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, took the oath of office on Monday.

At a quick swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10.30 AM, Justice Khanna was given the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu.

Justice D Y Chandrachud, who resigned from office on Sunday after reaching the age of 65, is replaced by Justice Khanna.

The five-minute event was attended by outgoing Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and sitting and retired justices.

Justice Khanna, who was appointed as a Supreme Court of India judge on January 18, 2019, will serve as the CJI for six months. The date of his retirement is May 13, 2025. After Chief Justice Chandrachud's suggestion on October 16, the Center announced his selection as the next Chief Justice on October 24.

Delhi police are chastised by the SC for not enforcing the cracker ban strictly.

His priorities are reportedly to expedite the administration of justice and reduce the number of cases that are pending. It has been customary for the CJI to suggest the seniormost Supreme Court judge to succeed him. It has only been broken twice: on April 25, 1973, Justice AN Ray became the 14th Chief Justice, replacing three of the most senior judges; and on January 29, 1977, Justice MH Beg became the 15th Chief Justice, replacing Justice HR Khanna.

Due to his lone dissenting opinion in ADM Jabalpur versus Shivkant Shukla (1976) regarding the suspension of fundamental rights during Emergency, his uncle, Justice HR Khanna, was not appointed as Chief Justice by the Indira Gandhi-led government.

The majority ruled that during an emergency, the government might imprison persons and suspend fundamental rights without adhering to due process. After the government announced the selection of Justice HM Beg, a younger judge, as the CJI, Justice HR Khanna resigned.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the son of Justice DR Khanna, a former judge of the Delhi High Court, has participated in numerous Constitution Bench rulings, such as those that upheld the repeal of Article 370 and the elimination of the electoral bonds program.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he presided over the bench that supported the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections. Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted temporary bail by a bench headed by him so that he might run for office in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Justice Khanna was born on May 14, 1960, and became an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983. He first worked in the District Courts at the Tis Hazari complex in Delhi, then the Delhi High Court and tribunals covering a wide range of topics, including direct taxation, arbitration, commercial law, company law, land law, environmental law, medical negligence, and constitutional law.

In 2005, he was named an additional judge to the Delhi High Court, and in 2006, he was appointed a permanent judge. He served as Chairman/Judge-in-charge of the Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Center, and the District Court Mediation Centers in addition to being a judge of the Delhi High Court. He was raised on January 18, 2019, as a Supreme Court judge. He is regarded as an authority on taxation.

From June 17, 2023, until December 25, 2023, he served as the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee as well. He currently serves as the National Legal Services Authority's executive chairman and is a member of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal's governing council.