The Union Government appoints Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next CJI on Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s recommendation.
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51st CJI of Supreme Court of India
In India, Supreme Court Chief Justices are appointed by Presidents based on recommendations given by the Collegiate by the power vested in them by Article 124(2) of the Constitution. The Collegiate contains the present Chief Justice of India and four senior Supreme Court judges. So, this is how Chief Justices are appointed.
Considering CJI D.Y. Chandrachud’s recommendation, the President has appointed Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the 51st Chief Justice of India. The current CJI is retired today as he attained the age of superannuation (65 years). He has had a long tenure of almost two years. Today, the helm of justice will be transferred to Justice Sanjiv Khanna who will retire in May 2025.
Let us look at a few iconic judgements delivered by Justice Khanna to understand his judicial prowess!
Notable Judgements of Justice Sanjiv Khanna Shaping Indian Jurisprudence
2024 Voter verification (VVPATs) case1
The Division bench led by him rejected the ADR petition that all votes cast in Electronic voting machines (EVM) must be verified through paper trails. This upheld the confidence in EVMs as they cannot be easily tampered with. The court analysed that the Election Commission of India is well prepared with safeguards to prevent foul play.
2024 Constitutionality of Electoral Bonds2
The Five-judge bench judgement struck down the 2018 Electoral Bond Scheme. The Scheme violated Article 19(1)(a) infringing on an individual’s right to information. It also lacked transparency and left political parties to have unchecked financial motives.
Abrogation of Article 370 case3
The Five-judge bench upheld the repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution. Justice Khanna eloquently explained the nuances regarding the peculiar form of Indian federalism. He also points out the differences between sovereignty and asymmetrical federalism.
2019 RTI case4
The Five-judge bench led by Justice Khanna opined that the right to Information exercised to get judicial data does not obstruct the independence of the Judiciary. Transparency can be guaranteed without making the judiciary dependent.
However, the bench directed the Central Public Information Officer to apply the principle depending on each request. This ensures that the Right to Information is not used as a missile against other fundamental rights such as the Right to Privacy.
Retrospective effect of Immunity against arrest granted in 2014 case5
In Dr Subramanian Swamy v. CBI (2014), Section 6A(1) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 was struck down. This provided Immunity against Arrest to every suspect irrespective of rank. However, the case failed to mention the effect of Immunity.
Hence, the Five-judge bench analysed the effect of the immunity against arrest. They held that the immunity against arrest has retrospective effect.
SC’s power to grant a divorce under Article 142 case6
Justice Khanna delivered the judgement explaining the scope of Article 142 of the Constitution. It is within the scope of Article 142 to grant divorce directly by the Supreme Court to provide complete justice.
Moving Forward
These were some of the many cases marked by Justice Sanjiv Khanna in the Supreme Court of India. His tenure as the 51st CJI will be short (almost 6 months). But I sincerely hope he carries on his legacy to deliver judgements as the Chief vanguard of the Indian Constitution in the meantime.
- Association for Democratic Reform (ADR) v. Election Commission of India, 2024 INSC 341 ↩︎
- Association for Democratic Reforms v Union of India, 2024 INSC 113 ↩︎
- Re: Article 370 of the Constitution, 2023 INSC 1058 ↩︎
- Central Public Information Officer, Supreme Court of India v Subhash Chandra Agarwal, 2019 SCC OnLine SC 1459 ↩︎
- C.B.I. v R.R. Kishore, 2023 INSC817 ↩︎
- Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan, (2023) 5 S.C.R. 165 ↩︎
