Jagdish Singh Khehar

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar served as the 44th Chief Justice of India. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in the field of public affairs, from Chandigarh ^[1].

From Kenya to the Bar

Khehar was born on 28 August 1952 in Kenya and came to India with his parents in 1965 ^[2]. He studied law at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and was enrolled as an advocate in 1979 ^[2]. He became a senior advocate in 1995 ^[2].

On the Bench

He became a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1999, then chief justice of the Uttarakhand and Karnataka high courts ^[2]. He joined the Supreme Court in 2011 and was sworn in as Chief Justice of India on 4 January 2017 ^[2].

He wrote or co-wrote several landmark judgments ^[2]:

• the majority judgment striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014
• Nabam Rebia, on the limits of a Governor’s powers
• Shayara Bano, in which a multi-faith bench set aside the practice of instant triple talaq

After retiring, he lectured in Europe, including at the University of Birmingham and the European Parliament ^[2].