CJI DY Chandrachud Proposes Justice Sanjiv Khanna As Next Chief Justice Of India

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has recommended the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next CJI in a letter to the Union law ministry. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the senior most judge at the top court, will be the 51st Chief Justice of India if the central government approves the recommendation. CJI Chandrachud will retire on November 10.

According to the Bar and Bench report, Justice Khanna will have a term of little over six months before he retires on May 13, 2025. Justice Sanjiv Khanna began his law practice in 1983 in the areas of taxation, arbitration, commercial, and environmental matters and was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005. He was elevated to the apex court in January 2019. 

The letter written by DY Chandrachud to the central government is as per convention, where the retiring Chief Justice of India nominates the second-most senior judge as a successor, and the Union government then approves the recommendation. Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, the 50th Chief Justice of India, has been serving since November 2022 following CJI U.U. Lalit’s retirement.