‘Non-Conformist’ D.Y. Chandrachud to be India’s Next Chief Justice

Photo: @LiveLawIndia

NEW DELHI, (IANS) – Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit, who will retire on November 8, has named Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court, as his successor.

Justice Chandrachud is the son of former Supreme Court judge Y.V. Chandrachud who was the longest-serving CJI, being in office for a little over seven years. During his tenure, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud overturned two judgments of his father – which were related to adultery and the right to privacy.

Chandrachud has a PhD from Harvard Law School and is known as a non-conformist judge. He has played a key role in introducing virtual hearings during Covid, which has now become a permanent feature. He has been part of the landmark judgments on Ayodhya title dispute, decriminalization of homosexuality, adultery, privacy, entry of women into Sabarimala, etc.

On September 29, a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud said that all women — including the unmarried — are entitled to safe and legal abortion, and the meaning of rape must be understood as including marital rape, solely for the purposes of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and any rules and regulations framed thereunder.

Justice Chandrachud got his bachelor’s degree in economics from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi and completed LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. He also served as Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 till 2000 after which he was appointed as judge of the Bombay High Court. He has also served as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court since 2013 until his elevation as an apex court judge in 2016.

Justice Chandrachud has been a visiting Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Mumbai and at Oklahoma University School of Law.