Justice Khanna ruled in 2019 that judicial independence does not conflict with the Right to Information.
New Delhi:
Sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna’s legal career saw him presiding over significant cases including the Electoral Bond Scheme, the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail.
Having practiced as an advocate in the fields of constitutional law, direct taxation and arbitration in the Tis Hazari court and Delhi High Court, Justice Khanna was promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on January 18, 2019
In one of his first judgments as a Supreme Court judge, Justice Khanna ruled in 2019 that judicial independence does not conflict with the Right to Information. Echoing the majority opinion of a five-judge Bench, he argued that argued that while the the Chief Justice could be subject to RTI requests, but a balance between transparency and judges’ right to privacy must be maintained.
In a historic 2023 judgment upholding the abrogation of Article 370, a Constitutional provision that granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Justice Khanna said that its removal did not affect India’s federal structure.
In the same year, the Shilpa Sailesh vs. Varun Sreenivasan case came before the Supreme Court, questioning if it has the power to grant a divorce. Justice Khanna’s view was that the top court could grant a divorce under Article 142 of the Constitution on the grounds of “irretrievable breakdown of marriage”. The Bench’s decision was considered instrumental in advancing divorce law in India.
When a five-judge Bench ruled that the Electoral Bond scheme is unconstitutional, Justice Khanna’s concurring opinion rejected that donor privacy applied to donations made through banking channels, adding that bankers responsible for handling the bonds are aware of the donors’ identities. He said the scheme infringed upon voters’ collective right to information
He also dismissed a plea by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) which sought a 100 per cent VVPAT verification of votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The Election Commission’s safeguards ensure “quick, error-free, and mischief-free counting of votes”, Justice Khanna said in the ruling. His judgment came amid a political row over the malfunctioning of EVMs.
In one of his more recent judgments, Justice Khanna, as part of a Bench that granted bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, questioned if there was a need to arrest the latter. Mr Kejriwal was embroiled in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.
As per the rule of seniority, Justice Khanna will serve as the 51st CJI from November 10 for a period of six months. He will serve as CJI till May 13, 2025, a day before his 65th birthday.
Justice Khanna has presided over 27 cases, some of which are still pending, including on the validity of the Bihar caste census, ban on the documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reservation in promotion, criminalisation of triple talaq, additional compensation for Bhopal gas tragedy victims, decriminalisation of adultery and the grant of a minority educational institution status to Aligarh Muslim University.
In the Revising Fee Scale for Arbitrators decision of 2022, Justice Khanna wrote a dissenting opinion on the limited point that in the absence of an arbitration agreement, the arbitral tribunal is entitled to fix a reasonable fee.
