Justice Chandrachud - Central News Hub

Justice Chandrachud named next CJI

Justice Chandrachud obtained a PhD from Harvard Law School and is known as a non-conformist judge…reports Asian Lite News

Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit, who will retire on November 8, on Tuesday named Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court, as his successor.

After the Centre clears his name, justice Chandrachud would become the 50th CJI. Chief Justice Lalit, in presence of all Supreme Court judges, handed over the letter of recommendation to Justice Chandrachud. He will retire on November 10, 2024.

Justice Chandrachud is son of former Supreme Court judge Y.V. Chandrachud who was the longest serving CJI for being in office for about seven years and four months between 1978 to 1985. During his tenure, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud overturned two judgments of his father – which were related to adultery and the right to privacy.

Justice Chandrachud obtained a PhD from Harvard Law School and is known as a non-conformist judge. He has played a key role in introducing virtual hearings during the Covid time, which has now become a permanent feature. He has been part of the landmark judgments on Ayodhya title dispute, decriminalisation of homosexuality, adultery, privacy, entry of women into Sabarimala etc.

On September 29, a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud said that all women — including the unmarried — are entitled to safe and legal abortion, and also the meaning of rape must be understood as including marital rape, solely for the purposes of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and any rules and regulations framed thereunder. Married women may also form part of the class of survivors of sexual assault or rape, added the bench.

Justice Chandrachud practised in Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. He passed BA with honours in economics from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi and completed LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. He also served as Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 till 2000. He was first appointed as judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000.

He 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, US. In June 1998, he was designated as senior advocate by the Bombay High Court.

The Centre, as per Memorandum of Procedure, asks the outgoing CJI to name the successor, just before a month of retirement. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, on October 7, sent a letter to the Chief Justice Lalit to make recommendation for appointment of his successor.

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Nobody too young to effectuate big change, says Justice Chandrachud

He said Ambedkar was from the Mahar caste, an untouchable Dalit caste, who significantly struggled in gaining access to even primary education…reports Asian Lite News.

Supreme Court judge Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said on Saturday that the example of Greta Thunberg, one of the strongest voices against climate change, shows that “nobody is too young to effectuate big change”.

Chandrachud was speaking virtually on the topic ‘Students as the Constitution’s Vanguards’ at a programme organised by the Shikshan Prasarak Mandali (SPM) on the occasion of the 101st birth anniversary of his father late Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, who was the longest-serving Chief Justice of India.

“In viewing our Constitution, as a primary spirit to counter majoritarianism, we can equip ourselves with a unique lens to view the world and balance competing interests,” Chandrachud said.

Speaking on climate change, Chandrachud emphasised that the world is in the midst of an accelerating climate change crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that ecological disruptions increase the existing inequalities.

He added that to combat this crisis, a collective global action is required.

Chandrachud further said that Greta Thunberg, who is one of the strongest voices in the civil society against climate change, began her journey as a lone 15-year-old sitting outside the Swedish Parliament demanding government action against the imminent risks of global warming.

“Her example, in addition to that of many others, shows us how nobody is too young or insignificant to effectuate big change. My learning for life, at my age, is also that you are never too old to be the change,” said Chandrachud.

He insisted that majoritarian tendencies must be questioned against the background of “our constitutive promise”.

“Any semblance of authoritarianism, clampdown on civil liberties, sexism, casteism, otherisation on account of religion or region is upsetting a sacred promise that was made to our ancestors who accepted India as their Constitutional republic,” he added.

Chandrachud also cited Bhimrao Ambedkar and added that before mounting a ferocious battle against casteism, patriarchy and oppressive Hindu practices, his first struggle was gaining access to education.

He said Ambedkar was from the Mahar caste, an untouchable Dalit caste, who significantly struggled in gaining access to even primary education.

“His foremost memories of schooling are of humiliation and segregation where he had to attend his classes while sitting outside the classroom and ensuring that he does not touch the water or the notebooks that belonged to the upper caste students,” he added.

Chandrachud further said that just like Ambedkar, several revolutionaries in India and the world like Savitribai Phule, Jyotiba Phule, Nelson Mandela and even Malala Yousafzai heralded their emancipatory movements through a radical quest for education.

Chandrachud also said that irrespective of the electoral legitimacy of the government, the Constitution is the North Star against which conformity of every state action or inaction would have to be judged.

Citing the 71st year of the Constitutional republic of the country, he said that many may, on occasion, feel that the country’s democracy is no longer new and the need to study Constitutional history and engage with its framework isn’t as worthwhile.

“However, it is important to recognise that in times of peace or crisis, irrespective of the electoral legitimacy of the government, the Constitution is the North Star against which the conformity of every state action or inaction would have to be judged,” he said.

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