Next CJI Justice Chandrachud: A profile

New Delhi, Oct 11: In a letter to the Centre, Chief Justice of India, U U Lalit has recommended Justice D Y Chandrachud as the next CJI. Set to take over as the CJI in November 2022, Justice Chandrachud is a former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and former judge of the Bombay High Court.

He is also the son of Justice Y V Chandrachud, the longest serving CJI. Born on November 11 1959, Justice Chandrachud's mother was a classical musician. He graduated with an honours in economic and mathematics and then obtained a law degree from the Faculty of Law at the University of Delhi in 19092 followed by a Master of Laws degree from the Harvard Law School.

He became judge of the Bombay High Court from March 29 2000 until his appointment as the CJ of the Allahabad High Court. On March 13 2016 he was appointed judge of the Supreme Court.

Some of his notable judgments are on the Indian Constitution, comparative constitutional law, human rights, gender justice, public interest litigation, criminal laws and commercial laws.

In is his lead opinion in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. vs Union Of India And Ors. as part of a unanimous nine-judge Bench decision of the Indian Supreme Court, which affirmed that the right to privacy is a constitutionally guaranteed right, he said, dignity cannot exist without privacy. Both reside within the inalienable values of life, liberty and freedom which the Constitution has recognised. Privacy is the ultimate expression of the sanctity of the individual. It is a constitutional value which straddles across the spectrum of fundamental rights and protects for the individual a zone of choice and self-determination.

On free speech he had said that free speech cannot be gagged for fear of the mob...Political freedoms impose a restraining influence on the state by carving out an area in which the state shall not interfere.

Hence, these freedoms are perceived to impose obligations of restraint on the state. But, apart from imposing 'negative' restraints on the state these freedoms impose a positive mandate as well. In its capacity as a public authority enforcing the rule of law, the state must ensure that conditions in which these freedoms flourish are maintained. In the space reserved for the free exercise of speech and expression, the state cannot look askance when organized interests threaten the existence of freedom.

The state is duty bound to ensure the prevalence of conditions in which of those freedoms can be exercised. The instruments of the state must be utilised to effectuate the exercise of freedom.

About Justice D Y Chandrachud:

• Appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 13 May 2016.
• Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court from 31 October 2013 until appointment to the Supreme Court.
• Judge of the Bombay High Court from 29 March 2000 until appointment as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. Director of Maharashtra Judicial Academy.
• Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 until appointment as a Judge.
• Designated as Senior Advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998.
• Practised law at the Supreme Court of India and the Bombay High Court.
• Visiting Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Mumbai. Visiting Professor at Oklahoma University School of Law, USA.
• Delivered lectures at the Australian National University, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School and the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Speaker at conferences organised by bodies of the United Nations including United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, International Labour Organisation and United Nations Environmental Program, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
• Obtained LLM degree and a Doctorate in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School, USA.
• BA with Honours in Economics from St Stephen's College, New Delhi. LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.