President Appoints Justice DY Chandrachud As Next Chief Justice Of India.
The President of India has appointed Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud as the Chief Justice of India with effect from November 9, 2022. Justice Chandrachud will take over as the 50th Chief Justice of India after the retirement of the incumbent CJI UU Lalit.
Justice Chandrachud was suggested by outgoing Chief Justice UU Lalit as his replacement on October 11. As Chief Justice of India, Justice Chandrachud will hold office till November 10, 2024, serving one of the longer periods in recent years.”Extending my best wishes to Justice DY Chandrachud for the formal oath taking ceremony on 9th Nov,” law minister Kiren Rijiju said after the announcement.
Last week, CJI Lalit had recommended Justice Chandrachud’s name as his successor since he is the senior-most Supreme Court judge.Justice Chandrachud been part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts of the top court including on matters relating to the Ayodhya land dispute, right to privacy and adultery.
Justice Chandrachud is known for his liberal and progressive judgements, the most recent one being the verdict upholding the rights of unmarried women to seek abortion of pregnancy up to 24 weeks. He was part of the Constitution Benches which decriminalized consensual homosexuality, recognized privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21, decriminalized adultery. He was part of the majority which upheld the right of women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple. Justice Chandrachud was also a member of the 5-judge bench which decided the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid case.
