Justice Sanjiv Khanna, a senior judge of the Supreme Court, was sworn in today, November 11, as the 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI).

He will serve as the CJI for just over six months before retiring on May 13, 2025.

Born on May 14, 1960, Justice Sanjiv Khanna started his legal journey in 1983 after being enrolled as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna completed his early schooling at Modern School in New Delhi, graduating in 1977. He then went on to pursue his undergraduate studies at St Stephen's College, Delhi, where he graduated in 1980. Following this, he studied law at the Campus Law Centre within the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.

Justice Khanna is the son of Justice Dev Raj Khanna, who retired as a judge of the Delhi High Court in 1985. His mother Saroj Khanna was a renowned Hindi lecturer at Delhi’s popular Lady Shri Ram College.

Justice Khanna was proposed to be the next Chief Justice by the outgoing CJI DY Chandrachud who retired on November 10.

Today, President Droupodi Murmu administered Justice Khanna’s oath as India’s 51st CJI in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Vice -resident Jagdeep Dhankar, and former CJI DY Chandrachud were also present during the oath-taking ceremony.