Justice D Y Chandrachud was on Monday appointed the 50th Chief Justice of India, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said. He will take oath on November 9, a day after
incumbent CJI Justice Uday Umesh Lalit demits office on attaining the age of 65.
While Justice Lalit has a brief tenure of 74 days, Justice Chandrachud will serve as the CJI for two years.
Last week, CJI Lalit had recommended Justice Chandrachud's name as his successor since he is the senior-most Suprem Court Judge.
Justice Chandrachud has been part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts of the top court including on matters relating to the Ayodhya land dispute, the right to privacy and adultery.
Justice Chandrachud, who was elevated to the
top court on May 13, 2016, will have a tenure of two years as the CJI and is due to retire on November 10, 2024. Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65.
He is the son of the longest serving CJI Y V Chandrachud who was the head of the judiciary from February 22, 1978 to July 11, 1985. He was judge of the Bombay high court from March 29, 2000 until his appointment as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court from October 31, 2013.
Justice Chandrachud was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay high court in June 1998 and became Additional Solicitor General in the same year till his appointment as a judge.
After completing BA with Honours in Economics from St Stephen's College, New Delhi, Justice Chandrachud did his LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, and obtained LLM degree and a Doctorate in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School, USA.
He 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.