Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on Wednesday, November 9, swore in as the 50th Chief Justice of India (CJI). He took over as the head of India’s judiciary from Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, who retired on Tuesday, November 8. The newly appointed CJI has been a part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts of the Supreme Court, including the Ayodhya land dispute, decriminalisation of adultery, and the right to privacy. Here’s a look at some of the most notable judgments the new CJI has been part of.
Fundamental Right to Privacy (2017): Justice DY Chandrachud wrote the lead judgement for a nine-judge Constitution bench in the Justice KS Puttaswamy versus Union of India case in which it was unanimously held that the right to privacy constituted a fundamental right under the Constitution.
Decriminalising Section 377 (2018): Justice Chandrachud was a member of the five-judge Constitution bench that unanimously decriminalised consensual sex under the 158-year-old section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, saying it violated the rights to equality. This judgement made same gender sexual intercourse and everything other than peno-vaginal sex between consenting adults legal.
The Hadiya case (2018): On April 9, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of a young woman from Kerala who converted from Hinduism to Islam against her family's wishes, and later married a Muslim Man. Hadiya was imprisoned and allegedly drugged by her father who was opposed to her conversion, and the case became sensational with several right-wing groups dubbing it 'love jihad' — a conspiracy theory by Hindutva hardliners that Muslim men were trapping Hindu women in marriage for the sake of 'jihad'. The decision to uphold Hadiya’s choice was made by Justice Chandrachud.
Adultery (2018): A five-judge bench including Justice Chandrachud unanimously held that Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised adultery, was unconstitutional on the ground of being arbitrary, archaic, and violative of the right to equality and privacy.
Sabarimala Case (2018): Justice Chandrachud concurred with the majority verdict in the Sabarimala case in holding that the practice of prohibiting women of menstruating age from entering the Sabarimala temple was discriminatory and violative of women's fundamental rights.
Ayodhya Title Dispute (2019): Justice Chandrachud was part of a five-judge Constitution bench that on November 9, 2019, in a unanimous verdict cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. While the newly appointed CJI is considered a liberal by many for his other judgements, this case stands out, among a few others. Some legal reporters believe that the judgement — which did not name its author — was in fact drafted by Chandrachud.
(With PTI inputs)