Will Not Accept Any Post after Retirement: Outgoing CJI Sanjiv Khanna

Debayan Roy (Bar and Bench) 13 May 2025

Economy & Nation

On his last day as a judge, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday affirmed that he would not take up any official post after he retires.

While addressing a question, he said, "I will not accept any post-retirement post.. but perhaps will do something with law."

On how the allegations of corruption against Justice Yashwant Varma were handled, he said,

"Judicial thinking has to be decisive and adjudicatory. We see plus and minus and decide the issue then rationally. When we do that, we take decisions. Then the future tells you whether what you did was correct or not."

Born on May 14, 1960, Justice Khanna comes from a family with a rich legal heritage. His father, Dev Raj Khanna, served as a judge of the Delhi High Court and his mother, Saroj Khanna, was a lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College.

He is the nephew of former Supreme Court Justice HR Khanna, who propounded the basic structure doctrine in Kesavananda Bharati (1973) and delivered the lone dissent in the ADM Jabalpur habeas corpus case (1976) during the Emergency - an act of judicial independence that cost him the position of CJI in January 1977.

CJI Khanna's grandfather, Sarav Dayal, a prominent advocate, served on the Indian National Congress Committee investigating the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

He has over three decades of judicial and advocacy experience, including significant roles in the Delhi High Court and as Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department.

In June 2005, Justice Khanna was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court and made a permanent judge in February 2006.

He was elevated to the Supreme Court in January 2019 and served as the 51st Chief Justice of India from November 2024 to May 2025.

Courtesy: Bar & Bench

Comments

User

Meenal Mamdani

1 year ago

This is another testament to the personal exemplary morals and integrity of this outstanding judge.

Some previous justices were given positions after they rendered judgements favorable to the ruling party.
One judge was given a post in the parliament even when he had serious sexual harassment charges levied against him which were not investigated thoroughly as they should have been.
India will surely progress if we have people of the caliber of Justice Khanna in positions of power.