It is believed that before delivering his dissenting opinion, Justice Khanna had mentioned to his sister: "I have prepared my judgment, which is going to cost me the Chief Justice-ship of India." In January 1977, Justice Khanna was superseded despite being the most senior judge at the time and thereby the government broke the convention of appointing only the seniormost judge to the position of Chief Justice of India. Justice Khanna remains a legendary figure among the legal fraternity in India for this decision.