| Name(s) |
Yeshwant Vishnu
(Y.V.) CHANDRACHUD |
| Date of
Birth |
July 12, 1920
- Born in Pune in the state of Maharashtra, India. |
| Date of
Death |
July 14, 2008 |
|
Identity |
16th Chief Justice
of India, from 1978 to 1985 |
|
Other Events &
Developments |
- The longest serving
Chief Justice in India's
history at 7 years and 4 months.
- He was appointed Chief Justice
of India during the term of the
Janata government, under
Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
- He sent Sanjay Gandhi to
jail in the "Kissa Kursi
Ka" case.
- In the Minerva Mills case, the
Supreme Court provided key
clarifications on the interpretation
of the basic structure doctrine. The
court unanimously ruled that the
power of the Parliament of India to
amend the constitution is limited by
the constitution. Hence the
parliament cannot exercise this
limited power to grant itself an
unlimited power.
- In addition, a majority of the
court also held that the
parliament's power to amend is not a
power to destroy.
- Hence the parliament
cannot emasculate the fundamental
rights of individuals,
including the right to liberty and
equality.
- The Shah Bano case:
In the Shah Bano case, the bench
headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud
took a secular stand. It invoked a
provision in The Criminal Procedure
Code, 1973 which is a secular
legislation to order
maintenance compensation to the
divorced Muslim woman. This
case caused the Rajiv Gandhi
government, with its absolute
majority, to pass the Muslim Women
(Protection of Rights on Divorce)
Act, 1986 which diluted the
secular judgment of the Supreme
Court.
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