Know About Justice DY Chandrachud's Family, Newly Appointed Chief Justice Of India

Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud became the 50th Chief Justice of India today, 9 November. He took the oath at the ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Chandrachud was recommended by the current Chief Justice Of India Uday Umesh Lalit as his successor to the position. For the past eight years, Justice Chandrachud has been serving as a Supreme Court judge. 

50th CJI DY Chandrachud's Family

DY Chandrachud was born to Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the longest-serving Chief Justice in the history of India, and Prabha, a classical singer. A graduate of Mathematics and Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, he went on to pursue a career in law. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws from Delhi University and a Masters of Laws from Harvard Law School. Justice Chandrachud also completed a Doctorate of Juridical Science from Harvard in 1986, which focused on the various aspects of affirmative legal action.

Justice Chnadrachud celebrated his swearing-in ceremony ith his partner Kalpana Das and two foster daughters Mahi and Priyanka. Kalpana Das is also a lawyer by profession and formerly worked with the British Council. Das is his second spouse. 

Chandrachud’s first spouse Rashmi died from cancer in 2007. A few years later, he married Kalpana Das. The couple became foster parents to two daughters. In its first, the Chief Justice of India brings his daughters to Supreme Court to show them how Court functions. Supreme Court’s senior judges and lawyers were surprised to see Chief Justice DY Chandrachud coming to the court with his two foster daughters on January 7, Saturday. He gave his daughters Mahi (16) and Priyanka (20) a tour of the courtroom and his chamber. Justice Chandrachud entered the courtroom along with his daughters, who have disabilities, from the public gallery. CJI showed both of them where the judges sit and where the lawyers argue. He also gave them a tour of his office. CJI decided to show the court after his daughters expressed a desire to see the Supreme Court, as per the sources.

Chandrachud has two sons from his first spouse, Abhinav, who practises law at the Bombay High Court, and a younger son, Chintan, is employed with a law firm in the UK. 

Justice DY Chandrachud joined Supreme Court in 2016 and has been a part of about 220 cases and verdicts. The 63-years-old judge is also the son of longest serving Chief Justice Of India, Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud. He was recommended to be the 50th CJI by CJI UU Lalit at a gathering in the presence of all Supreme Court judges. In the first, DY Chandrachud and YV Chandrachud will be the only father-son duo to serve as the CJI. 

Justice Chandrachud during his tenure in SC has given several landmark verdicts that impacted women and were in favour of them.

Justice Chandrachud declared the practice of the Sabarimala temple unconstitutional as it violated multiple articles of the Indian Constitution. In another judgment on Adultery Law, Justice Chandrachud played an important role to scrap the Indian Penal Code Section 497 that deprived women of sexual autonomy. In 2022 declared legal and safe abortion a right for every woman till 24 weeks of pregnancy. Women who conceive out of marital rape can also seek termination under the MTP act. 

Other than that he also spoke on the matters of Gender parity in the armed forces, the Right to Privacy, the Aadhaar act, the Bhima-Koregaon case, and more. 

Suggested Reading- 4 Milestone Verdicts By Justice DY Chandrachud That Affected Women