DY Chandrachud appointed 50th CJI: Here’s looking at his key rulings
Sabarimala temple case to granting permanent commission to women int he armed forces, Justice Chandrachud has lived up to his reputation as an advocate of women's rights through his rulings
Justice DY Chandrachud has been appointed as the 50th Chief Justice of India, effective from 9 November, 2022. Justice Chandrachud will take oath after current CJI Lalit retires on 8 November. He will have a term of over two years as the 50th Chief Justice of India till 10 November 2024.
This is also the first time a father and son will hold the CJI position. Justice Chandrachud's father Justice YV Chandrachud was the 16th and the longest serving CJI of India. Senior Chandrachud was part of delivering judgement in the pivotal case relating to fundamental rights in the infamous ADM Jabalpur case.
Like father, Justice Chandrachud joined the apex court of the country in 2016 and have been instrumental in several cases that have gone on to pave the way for many reforms. Chandrachud has also been touted as the advocate of women's rights in the country.
Let's take a look at the key judgements the 50th CJI had been a part of
Permanent Commission to women in Armed Forces
A Justice Chandrachud-led bench of judges in the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling directed the Indian Armed Forces and Indian Government to grant permanent commission to women officers in the armed forces, including command postings. Justice Chandrachud and other judges had pointed out the factor of gender discrimination in selection criteria at that time.
Sabarimala temple entry for women
Akin to his nature of advocating women's rights, Justice Chandrachud was part of the majority opinion that favoured the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. He cited that barring the entry of women into the temple was un-constitutional. Justice Chandrachud stuck by this judgment even when a larger nine-judge bench conducted a review judgment on the previous ruling.
Decriminalising Section 377
In September 2018, when the Supreme Court read down Section 377 to decriminalise homosexuality, Justice Chandrachud’s concurring opinion highlighted that this ruling may open the doors for granting wider rights to the sexual minorities.
Expansion of the right to abortion
A Justice Chandrachud-led bench of the Supreme Court recently held that marital status must not affect anyone’s right to seek an abortion.
The judgment was considered pivotal as it also includes persons who are not cisgender women. The judgment also refers to non-consensual intercourse between married couples as marital rape, which in turn may prove to be pertinent in the case seeking a declaration of marital rape as a punishable offence.
Hadiya case
In this case of ‘love jihad’ the apex court bench consisting of Justice Chandrachud stressed ont he right of the adult woman to exercise autonomy and the right to make decisions concerning her marriage and choice of adopting a religion.
Decriminalising adultery
A top court bench that included Justice Chandrachud decriminalised adultery as a punishable offence and noted that the provision was rooted in patriarchal views that sought to subjugate women and deny them bodily and sexual autonomy.
Right to privacy as a fundamental right
While writing the judgment for the conditional bench that upheld right to privacy as a fundamental right, Justice DY Chandrachud overruled the habeas corpus case of the Emergency era which had held that fundamental rights can be suspended at a time when emergency is proclaimed. The overruled judgement was passed by a bench that included Justice YV Chandrachud.
Aadhaar scheme validity
In challenge to the validity of the Aadhaar scheme, Justice Chandrachud was the only dissenter who noted that provisions of the act affected the right to privacy of the individual. It was Justice Chandrachud's dissenting opinion that termed passing the Aadhaar scheme as a money bill.
Freedom of expression and press freedom
Justice Chandrachud was the only dissenter in the case concerning the arrest of activists in relation to the Bhima Koregaon case. He had during one of the court hearings noted that dissent is the safety valve of a democracy.
Justice Chandrachud had also noted that the said arrests under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act may have been in violation of the fundamental rights of the accused persons.
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First Published:17 Oct 2022, 08:15 PM IST
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