Centre notifies appointment of Justice DY Chandrachud as next CJI

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday appointed Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud, Judge of the Supreme Court, as the Chief Justice of India, with effect from November 9, 2022.

The press statement issued in this regards stated that “In exercise of the power conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Dr Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud, Judge of the Supreme Court, as the Chief Justice of India, with effect from 09th November 2022.” The Present Chief Justice of India UU Lalit on October 11, had recommended Justice DY Chandrachud’s name as his successor to the Centre in accordance with the convention.

Justice Chandrachud to become the 50th CJI and will assume the office on November 9. If appointed he will have a tenure till November 10, 2024.

The Union Law Ministry had recently initiated the process for the appointment of the next CJI, asking the outgoing CJI to recommend his successor.

Justice Lalit had succeeded Justice NV Ramana, who retired on August 26. CJI Lalit has a brief tenure of 74 days as the head of India’s judiciary and would demit office on 8 November.

According to the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), which governs the process of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, the outgoing CJI initiates the process of naming the successor after getting a communication from the Law ministry.

The MoP states that the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is considered fit to hold the office of the CJI and the views of the outgoing head of the judiciary have to be sought at the appropriate time.

The MoP, however, does not specify the time limit for the initiation of the process of recommending the name of the successor CJI. Justice Chandrachud is the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Chandrachud’s father Justice YV Chandrachud was the 16th Chief Justice of India serving from February 2, 1978, to July 11, 1985. Justice Chandrachud, born on November 11, 1959, was appointed judge of the Supreme Court on May 13, 2016.

He was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court from October 31, 2013, until his appointment to the Supreme Court. Justice Chandrachud was the judge of the Bombay High Court from March 29, 2000, until appointment as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

He had also served as Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 until his appointment as a judge in the Bombay High Court. He was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998.