Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, who took over as India's 50th chief justice of India on Wednesday, has played a pivotal role in the digitisation of the judiciary and been part of benches that delivered landmark verdicts on issues such as the Ayodhya land dispute, Section 377, and right to privacy.
The apex court's most senior judge follows in the footsteps of his father and former chief justice of India, the late Y V Chandrachud, who was at the helm of the judiciary from February 22, 1978, to July 11, 1985, and was India's longest serving CJI. This is the first instance of a father and son occupying the highest seat of justice.
CJI Chandrachud took over from Uday Umesh Lalit, who recommended him as his successor to the Centre on October 11.
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Who is CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud?
Justice Chandrachud, born on November 11, 1959, and considered a Delhi University product who studied at St Stephen's College and the Campus Law Centre before going to Harvard, was elevated to the top court on May 13, 2016.
Counted as a judge who enriched the 'verdict docket' of the apex court, Justice Chandrachud is viewed as sharp, articulate, and forward-looking. Expected to advance judicial frontiers, he was a member of benches that delivered judgments on decriminalising part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple.
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Justice Chandrachud was chief justice of the Allahabad High Court from October 31, 2013, till his elevation to the apex court. He became a judge of the Bombay High Court from March 29, 2000, until he was appointed chief justice of the Allahabad High Court.
He was designated senior advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998 and became additional solicitor general the same year.
Justice Chandrachud, who is married and has two daughters, practised law at the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court and was a visiting professor of comparative constitutional law at the University of Mumbai.
(With PTI inputs)
