Justice DY Chandrachud was on Monday, October 17, appointed the 50th Chief Justice of India, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said. He will take oath on November 9, a day after incumbent CJI Justice Uday Umesh Lalit demits office on attaining the age of 65. While Justice UU Lalit has a brief tenure of 74 days, Justice Chandrachud will serve as the CJI for two years.
"In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President appoints Dr. Justice DY Chandrachud, Judge, Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 9th November, 22," Rijiju tweeted.
Justice Chandrachud, who will hold office till November 10, 2024, is the son of former Supreme Court judge YV Chandrachud, who was the longest-serving CJI, being in office for about seven years and four months between 1978 to 1985. Justice Chandrachud, who is a PhD from Harvard Law School, has been part of the landmark judgments on the Ayodhya title dispute, decriminalisation of homosexuality, right to privacy, entry of women into Sabarimala temple etc.
Justice Chandrachud practised in the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. He passed BA with honours in economics from St Stephen's College, New Delhi and completed his LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. He also served as Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 to 2000. He was first appointed as judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000. Justice Chandrachud has also served as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court since October 31, 2013, until his elevation as an apex court judge on May 13, 2016
Justice Chandrachud has been a visiting Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Mumbai and at Oklahoma University School of Law, USA. In June 1998, he was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court. The Union government, as per the Memorandum of Procedure, asks the outgoing CJI to name the successor, just before a month of retirement. Law Minister Rijiju, on October 7, sent a letter to Chief Justice Lalit to make a recommendation for the appointment of his successor.
With PTI inputs