Justice D Y Chandrachud was appointed as the 50th Chief Justice of India on 17th October 2022 and will succeed Justice U U Lalit. He would be sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu as CJI on Nov 9.
The current CJI, Justice U U Lalit, recommended Justice Chandrachud as his successor last week since he is the senior-most Supreme Court judge. Justice U U Lalit is due to retire on November 8 and is serving a short term of just 74 days.
Tenure of Justice D Y Chandrachud As CJI
Justice Chandrachud will be in office as CJI for two years and is due to retire on November 10, 2024. (Retirement age of SC Judge is 65 years).
Academics And Career
After completing a BA with Honours in Economics from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, Justice Chandrachud did his LLB (Bachelor of Law) and LLM (Masters of Law) from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, and further a Doctorate in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School, USA.
In June 1998, Justice Chandrachud was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay high court and in the same year became an Additional Solicitor General.
On March 29, 2000, he was appointed as judge of the Bombay high court until he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on October 31, 2013. On May 13, 2016, Justice Chandrachud, was elevated to the Supreme court.
He was a visiting Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Mumbai and Oklahoma University School of Law, US.
Justice Chandrachud, who has also played a crucial role in the digitization of the judiciary.
Family History
The new CJI has had a reputation for non-conformism and had candidly expressed his dissent at several stances. Justice Chandrachud is the son of former CJI Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, who had the distinction of being the longest-serving CJI for about seven years and four months between 1978 to 1985.
Two of his father’s rulings i.e., related to adultery and the right to privacy were famously turned over by D Y Chandrachud.
Landmark Verdicts
Justice Chandrachud has been part of several Constitution benches and important verdicts of the top court which includes judgments on the validity of the Aadhar scheme, decriminalizing same-sex relation (Section 377of the IPC), Sabrimala issue, relating to the Ayodhya land dispute, right to privacy and adultery.
He headed a bench that expanded the scope of the Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and its corresponding rules to include unmarried women for abortion between 20-24 weeks of pregnancy.
He had passed several directions to mitigate the agonies faced by people during the Covid 19 crisis. He termed the brutal second-wave crisis in 2021 a national crisis.
During the pandemic restrictions, Justice Chandrachud played a key role in starting virtual hearings. And now it has become a permanent feature of the judicial system.
Current CJI In Brief: Justice UU Lalit
Justice Lalit, the present CJI will demit office on November 8, 2022, after serving for a short tenure of under three months. He was the second CJI after Justice Sikri who was directly elevated from the bar council to the Supreme Court bench. Justice S M Sikri was also the 13th CJI from January 1971 to April 1973.
Supreme Court Of India: At A Glance
On 26th January 1950, the Supreme court came into existence. But it was inaugurated and commenced it’s sitting on the 28th of January, 1950, two days after India became a Sovereign, Democratic, Republic and is located on Tilak Marg, New Delhi. Initially, the Supreme Court was in operation from the Parliament House until it moved to the present location.
The supreme court is the apex judicial court in India. Due to its role, relevance, and nature, it earned sobriquet as a court of last resort, the highest court, and the final court of appeal. Supreme courts have wide powers in the form of original, appellate, and advisory jurisdictions.
The Supreme court is a federal court, the guarantor of the fundamental rights of the citizens, and the guardian of the constitution.
The Supreme Court of India comprises the Chief Justice of India and 33 other Judges appointed by the President of India.
The framers of the Constitution of the United States owe the credit for introducing the concept of the Supreme court.
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