Justice D Y Chandrachud sworn in as 50th Chief Justice of India
New Delhi, November 9, 2022
Dr. Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India here today.
Justice Chandrachud made and subscribed to the oath of office before President Droupadi Murmu in the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He has succeeded Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, who demitted office yesterday after a tenure of 74 days.
Chief Justice Chandrachud will have a tenure of two years and is due to demit office on November 10, 2024.
His father, Yashwant Vishnu Chandrachud, had served as Chief Justice of India from February 22, 1978 to Juy 11, 1985, the longest tenure held by anyone in that position.
Born on November 11, 1959, Justice Chandrachud did B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from St. Stephen's College, New Delhi and LL.B. from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi.
He was enrolled as an advocate on July 20, 1982. He joined the Bombay Bar after obtaining an LL.M. and a Doctorate in Judicial Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School.
He was designated as Senior Advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998, and was appointed Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 until his appointment as a judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000.
He later served as the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court from October 31, 2013 until May 13, 2016, when he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
He is a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Australian National University and University of Witwatersand, South Africa. He has been invited to several organisations as a speaker, including the Union Nations High Commission on Human Rights, the World Bank, the United Nations Environmental Programme, Asian Development Bank and the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts.
Justice Chandrachud, in his six years at the Supreme Court so far, has delivered several seminal judgements, incuding the decriminilization of homosexuality, decriminalization of adultery, declaration of privacy as a fundamental right and combating caste and gender discrimination through the Indian Constitution.
His judgements, including his notable dissents, have enriched Indian jurisprudence on constitutional law, human rights law, gender justice, criminal law and labour law. His vision for a just and equitable society precedes his days at the bench. As an advocate practising predominantly at the Bombay Bar, he was a champion for several causes, including the right to privacy, the rights of HIV+ workers, and religious and linguistic minority rights.
He also spearheaded a digital transition of the judicial system in India with the aim of ensuring access, transparency and accountability.
NNN
