✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › Justice Sanjiv Khanna

Justice Sanjiv Khanna biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

Justice Sanjiv Khanna Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth14 May 1960

Age65 Years

BirthplaceDelhi, India

ProfessionJudge / Lawyer

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

FamilyFather: Dev Raj Khanna (former Delhi High Court judge); Mother: Saroj Khanna; Maternal uncle: Justice H. R. Khanna; One brother

Justice Sanjiv Khanna Biography

Justice Sanjiv Khanna is an Indian jurist who served on the Delhi High Court before elevation to the Supreme Court of India and went on to hold the office

Early life and background

Sanjiv Khanna was born on 14 May 1960 in Delhi. He grew up in a family with deep legal roots: his father, Dev Raj Khanna, served as a judge of the Delhi High Court and retired in 1985, and his maternal uncle was Justice H. R. Khanna. His mother worked as a Hindi lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.

Khanna attended Modern School on Barakhamba Road in Delhi and went on to study at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. He completed his LLB from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, after finishing his undergraduate studies in 1980. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi and began practising law in 1983.

Career

Khanna built a diverse practice in the Delhi courts before joining the bench. His work as an advocate covered public law writ petitions, direct tax appeals and prosecutions, arbitration and commercial litigation, environmental matters, medical negligence cases before consumer forums, and company law matters.

His early legal appointments included roles such as Additional Public Prosecutor for the Delhi government and Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department. He also served as Civil Counsel in 2004–2005.

In June 2005 Khanna was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court and became a permanent judge of that court in 2006. He served on the Delhi High Court until his elevation to the Supreme Court of India in January 2019. His elevation directly from the Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court was one of a small number of such direct promotions since 1997.

In the Supreme Court, Khanna participated in several significant benches. He was part of a five-judge bench that addressed the applicability of the Right to Information to the Office of the Chief Justice while underscoring the need to balance transparency with the privacy of judges. He also took part in decisions concerning the Court's power to grant divorce directly under the Constitution, concurring with a view that the Supreme Court can grant divorce in appropriate cases to deliver complete relief to parties where a marriage has irretrievably broken down.

Khanna authored a dissent in an arbitration-fee-related case, expressing the view that, absent an agreement between parties, an arbitral tribunal may determine a reasonable fee. In another two-judge bench, he and his colleague declined to quash FIRs against a news anchor while affording the anchor protection from arrest and directing cooperation with investigation, with Justice Khanna commenting on the relationship between free speech and other fundamental rights.

He served as a judge of the Supreme Court from 2019 and was appointed Chief Justice of India on 11 November 2024. His term as Chief Justice concluded on 13 May 2025.

Public profile

Khanna has been associated with judicial training and alternative dispute resolution institutions, including the Delhi Judicial Academy, the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, and district-court mediation centres. His elevation to the Supreme Court in 2019 drew attention because it involved supersession of several senior judges at the Delhi High Court, a development that elicited criticism from some quarters.

On his first day at the Supreme Court, he sat in the same courtroom from which his uncle, Justice H. R. Khanna, had retired. At various points in his career he has recused himself from cases where he had previously taken a judicial role at an earlier stage, reflecting an awareness of potential perceptions of bias.

Personal life

Khanna is married and has one son. He holds Indian nationality and his zodiac sign is Taurus. Reported physical details include an approximate height of 175 cm (about 5 feet 9 inches) and an approximate weight of 70 kg. His declared residences have included a three-bedroom DDA flat in South Delhi, a house in East Delhi held in partnership with his brother, and an ancestral home in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh.

Latest updates

Justice Khanna's judicial service is recorded from 1983 through 2025. He completed his tenure as Chief Justice in May 2025 and continues to be noted for judgments and opinions that engage questions of institutional accountability, the scope of fundamental rights, and the powers of the Court to fashion equitable relief.
◈

Recent Work

Chief Justice of India

Served as the 51st Chief Justice of India from 11 November 2024 to 13 May 2025.

2024-2025
Judge of the Supreme Court of India

Appointed to the Supreme Court in January 2019 and served until 2025.

2019-2025
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Additional Public Prosecutor for the Delhi government and Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department.
  2. Appointed Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and made permanent in 2006.
  3. Elevated directly from the Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court in January 2019.
  4. Served as Chief Justice of India from 11 November 2024 to 13 May 2025.
  5. Part of landmark benches addressing RTI applicability to the Office of the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court's power to grant divorce under Article 142.
?

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Justice Sanjiv Khanna born?

14 May 1960

What is Justice Sanjiv Khanna known for?

Judge / Lawyer

What is Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s marital status?

Married