Justice D Y Chandrachud Named As The Next CJI, To Be India’s 50th. Who Is He?

CJI or Chief Justice of India, UU Lalit’s retirement is due on November 8. He has named Justice D Y Chandrachud as his successor by handing over the recommendation letter to him. Following the approval from the government, Justice Chandrachud will have a tenure of two years as CJI which will end on November 10, 2024. 

Justice D Y Chandrachud will become India’s 50th CJI and is scheduled to take the oath on November 9, 2022; one day after the tenure of CJI Lalit comes to an end.  

Interestingly, Justice Chandrchud’s father Y V Chandrachud too served as the CJI and had a stint of over 7 years.

Who is Justice D Y Chandrachud?

He is a law graduate from Delhi University and holds an LL.M degree and a Doctor of Juridical Science from Harvard Law School. 

Justice D Y Chandrachud was appointed as the additional solicitor general of India in 1998. 

He was also appointed as the Senior Advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998.

Further, he also became the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on October 31, 2013

Justice Chandrachud has also been the Director of the Maharashtra Judicial Academy.

He was transferred to the Supreme Court in 2016 

As the judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Chandrachud has played an instrumental role in the rollout of some key landmark judgements. 

He was a part of the benches that decriminalised homosexuality, decriminalised adultery and in allowing women in the Sabrimala temple

Further, during the pandemic, he made virtual court hearings possible and launched live streaming of the court’s proceedings. 

He was also part of the five-judge Supreme Court bench that settled the Ayodhya title dispute matter. 

He was a part of the bench that approved a permanent commission for women in the armed forces. 

In a recent historic judgement, he headed the bench that extended the right to abortion to all women, regardless of their marital status.

Justice D Y Chandrachud is now serving as executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA). 

Who is the CJI or Chief Justice of India?

It is one of the highest authoritative positions in the country. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) heads the judiciary of India as well as the country’s apex court, the Supreme Court of India. 

The Chief Justice is entrusted with the responsibility of allocating cases and appointing the constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law. They are also responsible for swearing in the country’s President. 

After taking office on November 9, Justice D Y Chandrahud will appoint his new collegium once the collegium headed by CJI Lalit freezes on 8th November.