Justice Sanjiv Khanna takes oath as 51st CJI

President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Monday 

The swearing-in ceremony of the 51st Chief Justice of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan saw Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, government Ministers, former Chief Justices of India, sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts in attendance.

After being sworn in, Chief Justice Khanna acknowledged the gathered audience before travelling the short distance to the Supreme Court to preside at court one — as the Chief Justice’s court is called— to hear the 47 cases listed



before him and his Bench companion, Justice Sanjay Kumar.

Justice Khanna succeeds Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who retired on Sunday (November 10, 2024), and his term will last until May 13, 2025.

Next door, in court two, where he had presided for months before his appointment as Chief Justice on November 11, hangs the life-size portrait of his uncle, the legendary Justice H.R. Khanna, whose championing of personal liberty during the dark days of Emergency in 1977 cost him his Chief Justiceship of India. The story of the elder Justice Khanna still resonates as activists and citizens booked under draconian laws struggle for bail.