 "image")
Who is D Y Chandrachud?
Early life and Education
Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud was born in Mumbai on November 11, 1959. His father Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud was the 16th and the longest serving CJI (from February 22, 1978 –July 11, 1985). D Y Chandrachud studied BA with Economics Honours from St Stephen's College, New Delhi. He completed LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 1982. He obtained LLM degree and a Doctorate in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School, USA in 1986.
Career
After his graduation from Harvard, Chandrachud practiced law at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India. In June 1998, he was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court. He served as the additional solicitor general of India from 1998 till his appointment as permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court in March 2000. In October of 2013, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, he held the position until his appointment as a Supreme Court in May 2016.
Judgements
Justice Chandrachud penned some notable judgements during his tenure at the Supreme Court including:
The K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India case, where Chandrachud was the sole dissenter, held that the Aadhaar was passed unconstitutionally.
Chandrachud was on the bench that heard the Sabarimala Temple Entry case, he held that ‘the exclusion of women between the ages of 10-50 years from Sabarimala Temple violated constitutional morality.’
In the Romila Thapar v Union of India case regarding the arrest of 5 human rights activists in the Bhima Koregaon case, Chandrachud dissented and stated ‘that the issue was whether the arrests violated the accused of their fundamental rights to free expression and personal liberty guaranteed by Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.’
He was also on the five-judge bench that heard the Ayodhya title dispute case.
Latest Updates on D Y Chandrachud
Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that his remarks about praying to God to help him find a solution to the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute were "completely misconstrued."
He also pointed out that this will require a constitutional amendment because, the recruitment and conditions of service of the judges to the district judiciary are, controlled by the governors
Chandrachud also said that in a democracy the power to decide the validity of laws is entrusted to the constitutional courts
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed that by not deciding on the disqualification petitions, ex-CJI Chandrachud kept doors and windows open for defections
In a post on X, the Congress chief said, "Extending best wishes to Justice Sanjiv Khanna for taking oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India
Justice Sanjiv Khanna has sworn in as India's 51st Chief Justice by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, following Justice DY Chandrachud's retirement at age 65
In his remarks, CJI Chandrachud reflected on the legacy of the former CJIs who had previously served on the court and expressed confidence in justice Khanna taking over as his successor
At his farewell event, Justice Chandrachud says no greater feeling than serving the needy
The list of judgments penned by him is long and covers almost all aspects of law. They blend scholarship and jurisprudence and are likely to inform both future decisions and how the law is studied
The bench found that one of the rules of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act does not establish enforceable, compulsory standards
Case dates back to 1967 when a five-judge constitution bench had ruled that AMU being a central university cannot be considered a minority institution
This ruling confirms that DRI officers qualify as "proper officers" under Section 28 of the Customs Act, enabling them to issue show-cause notices
CJI Chandrachud said the release of the three publications was a "continuation of the celebrations" to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Court of India
Chandrachud, who demits office on November 10, said a lot of these pressure groups term the judiciary independent if judges decide in their favour
CJI said one had to respect that a dialogue took place as part of a robust inter-institutional mechanism and separation of powers between judiciary and the executive did not mean the two not meeting
People aware of the procedure to appoint high court and Supreme Court judges said the files relating to Kirpal, Satyan, Banerjee and Sen are still pending with the government
The chief justice said unlike in other fields, the work burden of a judge increases both in terms of volume and complexity as he or she rises in the judiciary
He also recalled how he grew up listening to AIR bulletins in Hindi, English and Sanskrit with his parents, getting enchanted by the iconic voices
This change aims to broaden the scope for journalists without legal backgrounds, empowering more voices to report on India's top court
Supreme Court had also asked the state government to explore providing some space to the high court to set up its arbitration and mediation centre in the Air India building