Jagdish Singh Khehar, Chief Justice of India
Chief Justice of India

Jagdish Singh Khehar

Born 28 August 1952 · verify

Delivered landmark Supreme Court verdicts on Triple Talaq and the Right to Privacy in India.

Jagdish Singh Khehar is an Indian jurist, who served as the 44th Chief Justice of India from 4 January 2017 to 27 August 2017. He was the first Sikh Chief Justice of India. He has been a judge in Supreme Court of India from 13 September 2011 to 27 August 2017 upon superannuation. He served for a brief period but gave many landmark judgements such as the Triple Talaq and the Right to Privacy verdicts.

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A detail that
surprised us

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Jagdish Singh Khehar was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and migrated to India in 1965, making his rise to Chief Justice of India a story of cross-continental transformation.

The Story

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🌍 Born on August 28, 1952, in Nairobi, Kenya, Jagdish Singh Khehar moved to Chandigarh in 1965, marking a rare journey from a British colony to the heart of India's judiciary.
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🎓 By 1979, he had earned his LL.M from Panjab University and soon began teaching law there from 1982 to 1986, blending academia with practice early in his career.
3In 1999, Khehar was appointed to the Chandigarh Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he eventually served as Acting Chief Justice twice before leading the Uttarakhand High Court in 2009.
4👨‍⚖️ In 2011, he ascended to the Supreme Court of India, where his judgments began reshaping constitutional law, including the 2016 verdict striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act.

🏅 Awards & Honours

2025
Padma Vibhushan

🔍 One thing most people don't know

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Khehar spent his early years in Kenya and moved to Chandigarh in 1965, joining a community of Sikh immigrants in Sector 21, a detail that shaped his compact turban style and cultural identity.

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Through the Years

5 photographs from the archives
Portrait of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, former Chief Justice of India (2011).
Portrait of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, former Chief Justice of India (2011).
2011
Jagdish Singh Khehar being greeted by President Pranab Mukherjee after oath as Chief Justice of India (2016).
Jagdish Singh Khehar administering oath to President Ram Nath Kovind at Parliament in New Delhi (2017).
Jagdish Singh Khehar receiving Honoris Causa degree at Guru Nanak Dev University convocation in Amritsar (2018).
Jagdish Singh Khehar receiving the Padma Vibhushan Award from President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan (2025).

🗓️ A Life in Moments

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Birth
Birth in Nairobi, Kenya
Jagdish Singh Khehar was born in Nairobi, then a British colony, where his father worked in the postal service.
1952
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Other
Migration to Chandigarh, India
Khehar’s family relocated from Kenya to Chandigarh, settling among Sikh immigrant families in Sector 21.
1965
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Education
Earned LL.M from Panjab University
Completed Master of Laws degree and soon began teaching at Panjab University's Law Faculty.
1979
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Career
Appointed Judge at Punjab and Haryana High Court
Elevated to the Chandigarh Bench, marking the start of his judicial career in High Courts.
1999
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Career
Became Supreme Court Judge
Sworn in as Judge of the Supreme Court of India, beginning his tenure at the apex court.
2011
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Career
Appointed Chief Justice of India
Took oath as the 44th Chief Justice and the first Sikh to hold the position.
2017
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Career
Administered Presidential Oath
Administered oath to Ram Nath Kovind, the 14th President of India, during his tenure as Chief Justice.
2017
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Career
Retired as Chief Justice
Superannuated from the Supreme Court, ending his tenure as Chief Justice of India.
2017
More moments to come...
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🗝️Discoveries

Swipe to uncover hidden stories
01 / 04
🏆ACHIEVEMENT

During his time at Punjab and Haryana High Court, Khehar authored over 200 judgments within nine years, a prolific output that marked his judicial rigor early on.

02 / 04
💡SURPRISING

In 2017, Khehar dissented in the Triple Talaq judgement, arguing that the practice was protected under Article 25 and that legislative intervention, not judiciary, was the proper path for reform.

03 / 04
🌍HISTORICAL IMPACT

He administered the oath of office to the 14th President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, on July 25, 2017, linking his tenure to a pivotal constitutional ceremony.

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"This is the lakshman rekha that you seek."

— Jagdish Singh Khehar

🎙️ Speeches & Recordings

These recordings preserve the legacy of Bharat's icons
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar to be next CJI, first from Sikh community

🌱 What changed because of them

Khehar’s rulings, especially quashing the NJAC Act, fortified the judiciary’s independence by curbing executive influence on judicial appointments. His concurrence in the Right to Privacy verdict set a precedent that reshaped personal liberty protections under the Indian Constitution. These decisions continue to influence debates on the balance of power between the judiciary and other branches of government.

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