Justice DY Chandrachud takes oath as 50th Chief Justice of India

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, November 9

Justice DY Chandrachud -- the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court -- was on Wednesday sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India.

President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Chandrachud at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10am.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, outgoing CJI UU Lalit, sitting and former judges of the Supreme Court, union ministers, senior lawyers and various other dignitaries from the field of law and politics.

Justice Chandrachud succeeds Justice UU Lalit who retired on November 8 after a 74-day stint. Justice Lalit had recommended Justice Chandrachud's name as his successor last month.

Born on November 11, 1959, he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 13, 2016. Justice Chandrachud will have a two-year tenure as the CJI. His father Justice YV Chandrachud was the 16th CJI from 1978-85.

Considered a liberal and progressive judge, Justice Chandrachud has been part of several landmark verdicts of the Supreme Court, including those on the Ayodhya land dispute, right to privacy, adultery and abortion.

There has been a convention of the CJI recommending the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as his successor. Only twice, it was not followed – Justice AN Ray was appointed the CJI on April 25, 1973, superseding three senior-most judges and Justice MH Beg was appointed the CJI on January 29, 1977, superseding Justice HR Khanna.

The Supreme Court had on November 2 dismissed a petition seeking to restrain Justice Chandrachud from taking oath as the 50th CJI, saying it was a “completely misconceived” petition.

Justice Chandrachud earlier served as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court from October 31, 2013. He was judge of the Bombay High Court from March 29, 2000 until his appointment as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

Justice Chandrachud was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998 and became an Additional Solicitor General the same year till his appointment as a judge.

After completing BA Honours in Economics from St Stephen's College, University of Delhi, Justice Chandrachud did his LLB from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, and obtained an LLM degree and a Doctorate in Juridical Sciences from Harvard Law School in the US.

He practised law at the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court and was a visiting Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at Mumbai University.

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