DY Chandrachud’s tenure: Great ambitions, but did he do enough?

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In 2000, Danny, a 38-year-old lawyer, confronted then Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal of the Bombay High Court with a heartfelt request: “Would you grant me the liberty to take my own freedom and step away from the course you have charted for me?" Justice Sabharwal had offered him a judgeship, but Danny wanted to prioritise caring for his ailing wife over accepting the prestigious position.

While Danny was unsure about taking on the role of a judge, his colleagues at the Bombay High Court had already marked their calendars, predicting his eventual ascendancy to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice of India. Fast forward to today, at 64, Danny—or Dhananjay Yeshwant Chandrachud—is preparing to conclude his term as the 50th Chief Justice of India after two years at the helm of India’s judiciary. Chandrachud’s term as Chief Justice of India ends on 10 November.

Before that, he had spent eight years as a Supreme Court judge. To assess Chandrachud’s legacy, first as a lawyer and then as a judge, Mint spoke with senior advocates, former judges, and acquaintances. ‘Danny’—a nickname given to him by one of his teachers at Mumbai’s 162-year-old Cathedral School—comes from a distinguished legal lineage.

He is the son of India’s longest-serving Chief Justice, Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, and classical singer Prabha Chandrachud. He is also an alumnus of St. Stephen’s College and Harvard University, where he earned a Doctor of Juridical Science.