Justice Sanjiv Khanna sits in his uncle's court, portrait in backdrop

It was a rare coincidence for Justice Sanjiv Khanna to begin his first day as a judge in Supreme Court sitting in the same courtroom from which his uncle, Late Justice Hans Raj Khanna, last retired. After taking oath along with Justice Dinesh Maheshwari on Friday, Justice Khanna sat in court no. 2 along with Justices SA Bobde and Deepak Gupta where a portrait of Justice HR Khanna adorns the wall.

Strikingly, his uncle entered history books after he was superseded by Justice MH Beg who became the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on January 29, 1977. Justice Khanna did not become CJI due to his uncompromising and bold decision to uphold citizens' fundamental rights during the Emergency. In the ADM Jabalpur case decided on April 28, 1976, Justice Khanna did not go with the majority opinion favouring the view of the Centre that fundamental rights will remain suspended during Emergency. As a consequence, when Justice Khanna's turn came to become CJI as per order of seniority, the Government snubbed him and instead appointed Justice Beg as CJI.

Ironically, the post which Justice Khanna lost out will now be occupied by his nephew, Justice Sanjiv Khanna. Due to his long tenure as judge in SC, the newly appointed Justice Khanna is destined to take over as CJI in the year 2024. He has never headed any High Court as Chief Justice and was a judge of the Delhi High Court prior to his elevation to SC.

As about the ADM Jabalpur case, it no longer has any legal force. On August 24, 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court while declaring the right to privacy as a fundamental right, overruled the ADM Jabalpur decision and corrected a historical blunder for which the judiciary has always hanged its head in shame. By doing so, the Court collectively recognized the stature of Justice HR Khanna, who by his dissent became immortal.

The other judge who took oath on Friday was Justice Dinesh Maheshwari who became a judge in the Rajasthan High Court in 2004. Before his elevation to Supreme Court, he was serving as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. The decision to appoint both the judges was taken by the Supreme Court Collegium on January 10 and in less than a week, the Centre processed the request and cleared the way for their appointment.

Judges Sworn In

Justices Dinesh Maheshwari & Sanjiv Khanna were on Friday sworn in as SC judges amid row over the Collegium recommending their elevation