Justice DY Chandrachud retires as CJI

LEAVES TRANSFORMATIVE LEGACY IN JUDICIARY

Justice D Y Chandrachud on Sunday concluded his tenure as the 50th Chief Justice of India after two years marked by transformative rulings and substantial reforms, carving out a unique legacy in the Indian judicial history.

Beside delivering several landmark judgments like the Ayodhya land dispute, abrogation of Article 370 and the decriminalisation of consensual gay sex that shaped society and politics, he was part of 38 constitution benches during his eight years tenure as a judge in the Supreme Court.

During his tenure at the apex court, he rendered more than 500 judgments, some of them having wide ramification to the society and legal field.

India's 50th Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, known also for his many pithy statements, leaves an imprint all his own on the annals of legal history.

Not only on the judicial side but even in the administrative side, CJI Chandrachud left his imprint as he led various reforms in the judiciary. He ordered an accessibility audit of the Supreme Court to make the courts accessible to the common man and disabled friendly.

The Chandrachud legacy has a physical manifestation too - a reimagined 'Lady Justice'. The earlier 'Goddess of Justice' in Grecian robes with blindfold and sword has been replaced by a six-ft tall sculpture with scales in one hand and the Constitution in another. She is in a sari, with a crown and sans blindfold.