CJI Chandrachud: Social media is abuzz with the appointment of Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud as the 50th Chief Justice of India. Most new media journalists and news publishers are concentrating on how to spin this story for keywords and clicks, inevitably making them focus on the temporal aspects of CJI Chandrachud like his family, wife, adopted children, etc. Contrary to this, many users on Twitter are asking the right questions and debating on Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud’s previous judgments and the difference he can bring to the operations of the Supreme Court. All of this buzz boils down to a single question, can CJI Chandrachud be the X factor we all are waiting for and press the peddle on long pending judicial reforms in India?
Vox Populi On CJI DY Chandrachud Journey So Far
DY Chandrachud is the most qualified to bring in judicial reforms. After graduating from Delhi University Chandrachud worked as a junior advocate and was involved in drafting work for Fali Sam Nariman- an internationally recognized jurist who won the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018.
CJI DY Chandrachud continued his education at Harvard University and graduated with Masters of Laws. After Harvard, he started working for the New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. He left the job at Sullivan & Cromwell and returned to India to practice law at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India.
From being a designated Senior Advocate in Supreme Court in 1998 to becoming the Additional Solicitor General of India in the same year, CJI DY Chandrachud’s career saw a quick progression. As things unraveled he became the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in 2013.
CJI DY Chandrachud: Torchbearer of judicial activism
From Delhi University to becoming the Chief Justice of India Chandrachud’s journey is laden with learnings that can empower him to make the right choices when it comes to judicial reforms. His sensational landmark judgments on many politically sensitive issues are testimony to his approach toward Law & Justice. CJI Chandrachud lacks the inertia that encompasses our judges and judiciary, he is the torchbearer of judicial activism, one who is willing and capable of bringing judicial reforms.
CJI DY Chandrachud: On Judiciary Adopting Social Media and Live Streaming of Court Proceedings
CJI Chandrachud In a judgment involving ECI, “We find no substance in the prayer of ECI to restrain media from reporting court proceedings. it is essential to hold the judiciary accountable.”
CJI DY Chandrachud is very vocal when it comes to holding the Judiciary accountable to the people of the nation. Speaking at the All India District Legal Authorities meeting, then Justice DY Chandrachud said that Judiciary needs to be proactive in adopting technology and use modern tools to reach people to instill trust and confidence in people on the judiciary proceedings.
CJI DY Chandrachud headed the eCommitte of the Supreme Court of India. He oversaw the projects and implementation of e-court and digital courts across the country.
CJI DY Chandrachud spoke to NDTV “Serving the ordinary citizen is my priority,” and promised reforms in the registry and judicial processes. My work, not words, will speak.”
An advantage to CJI DY Chandrachud
We can believe that all the Judges who get appointed as Chief Justices of India are capable of innovating and reforming the judicial institutions. But most of them lack the required time and tenure. Some CJIs get tenure of fewer than 3 months and it is impossible for them to think of reforms, they are burdened with the mundane tasks of Chief Justice and there is simply no time for anything beyond.
However, the current CJI DY Chandrachud has a tenure of more than 2 years. DY Chandrachud will be holding the office of Chief Justice of India until November 10, 2024, allowing him to think of larger things like judicial reforms. CJI DY Chandrachud will be retiring after 2 years when he reaches the age of 65 years.
Chief Justice Chandrachud was the presiding judge for a bench that worked beyond the regular working hours before Dussera’s Vacation in 2022 and heard 75 cases.
A Case In Point: Landmark Judgements and Judicial Activism Involving CJI DY Chandrachud
- Extending the medical termination of pregnancy to unmarried and single women
- Decriminalising Homo Sexuality, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code abolished
- Indian Young Lawyers Vs Stae of Kerala Judgement: Restricting women’s entry to temples during menstruation is a form of untouchability.
- Hadiya Marriage Case: Religion conversion is a Right to privacy and Liberty, and a fundamental right guaranteed in the constitution of India.
- Constitutionality of Aadhar Bill: Aadhar is unconstitutional and violative of the fundamental right. This judgment is considered to be the most vocal dissent in the modern history of jurisprudence in India.
- Permanent Commission of Women In Defence Services Case: Struck down the Army’s discriminatory policy against women and paved the way for the permanent commission of women in the Army.
- Representation of People’s act case
CJI DY Chandrachud led bench directed the government to ensure oxygen supply during the COVID-19 crisis. CJI Chandrachu never shied away from expressing his opinions, his judicial activism is something we all need right now. Especially now, when we have governments with an overwhelming majority when it comes to legislation and passing laws. With a fading opposition in the parliament and many state legislative assemblies, the Supreme Court of India has become more important than ever, it needs to assume a proactive role in protecting and safeguarding the rights and welfare of the citizens. Our new CJI Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud is more than capable of reforming the judicial institutions and more importantly, his track record shows that he is willing to do what is necessary, making him an X factor in accelerating the impending judicial reforms.