New Delhi. Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud, who was part of the Supreme Court benches that delivered several important verdicts including the Ayodhya land dispute case, was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India on Wednesday. He was administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Justice Chandrachud takes over as the head of India's Judiciary from Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, who demitted office on Tuesday. While his predecessor, Justice Lalit had a brief tenure of 74 days, Justice Chandrachud will serve as the CJI for two years. He will demit office on November 10, 2024, a day before he completes 65 years.
Dr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. pic.twitter.com/8mXM6U55tL
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 9, 2022
Those present at the ceremony included Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Kiren Rijiju. Outgoing CJI Lalit was also present. On October 11, he had recommended to the Centre Justice Chandrachud's name as his successor.
CJI Lalit set the bar High, his shoes are large but justice chandrachud is ideally placed to step into them and raise the bar. Expectations are riding high as Justice D Y Chandrachud will be at the helm of the country's top court for a little over two years, an "unprecedented" development in this decade, giving him ample time to decide on some of the vexing issues that are brewing across the country.
He is the son of the longest serving CJI Y.V. Chandrachud, who headed the Judiciary from February 22, 1978, to July 11, 1985.
Justice Chandrachud, who calls dissent the "safety valve of democracy", was part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts of the top court, including on matters relating to the Ayodhya land dispute and right to privacy.
He was also part of the benches that delivered path-breaking judgements on decriminalising same-sex relations after it partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, validity of the Aadhaar scheme and Sabarimala issue.
Just last month, a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud expanded the scope of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and the corresponding rules to include unmarried women for abortion between 20-24 weeks of pregnancy.
