Justice Chandrachud has been part of several landmark verdicts
Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India today. He was administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Here are top 10 points on this big story
- In his first statements to the media after the swearing-in ceremony, Justice Chandrachud said, "Serving the ordinary citizen is my priority," and promised reforms in registry and judicial processes. He told NDTV, "My work, not words, will speak."
- Justice Chandrachud will serve as the head of the Supreme Court for two years -- till November 10, 2024. He succeeds Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, who was at the top post for a short tenure of 74 days.
- Justice Chandrachud was elevated as a Supreme Court judge on May 13, 2016. He has been part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts, including in the Ayodhya land dispute and the right to privacy.
- He was also part of the benches that delivered crucial judgments on decriminalising same-sex relations by partially striking down Section 377 of the IPC, the validity of Aadhaar scheme and the Sabarimala issue.
- A Justice Chandrachud-led bench had passed several orders to relieve miseries faced by people during the Covid crisis. More recently, a bench headed by him expanded the scope of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act to include "unmarried woman".
- Justice Chandrachud is the son of late Justice YV Chandrachud, the longest-serving Chief Justice Of India who was at the top post for seven years.
- Interestingly, Justice Chandrachud, who would be the first Chief Justice whose father was also one, has twice overturned judgments led by Justice YV Chandrachud.
- Justice Chandrachud holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from St Stephen's College. He later completed am LLB from Delhi University, and an LLM and a doctorate from Harvard Law School in the US.
- He has practised law at the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court, and was also a visiting professor of comparative Constitutional law at the University of Mumbai.
- He was designated a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998 and became Additional Solicitor General in the same year till his appointment as a judge. Justice Chandrachud has earlier served as a judge in Bombay High Court and as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
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