D.Y. Chandrachud, who served as the 50th Chief Justice of India, retired from his post on Friday. Here is a snapshot of some of the most significant verdicts that he delivered.
In M Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das, on 9 November 2019, a five-judge bench, including Justice Chandrachud, unanimously awarded the disputed Ayodhya title to the deity Shri Ram Virajman
and instructed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide the Sunni Waqf Board with an alternate site in Ayodhya for a mosque. The judgment, a 1,045-page per curiam opinion, was written on behalf of the entire Court, overturning the 2010 Allahabad High Court decision that had split the title among the Nirmohi Akhara, U.P. Sunni Central Board of Waqfs, and Shri Ram Virajman. The Court acknowledged that the Babri Masjid’s demolition on 6 December 1992 by kar sevaks was a “serious violation of law.” While the Archaeological Survey of India found no evidence that the underlying structure was a temple dedicated to Lord Ram, the Court concluded that the possessory claims of Hindus were stronger than those of the Muslims. A few weeks before his retirement, during a program in his native village, CJI Chandrachud mentioned that he had prayed for a resolution to the Ayodhya dispute.
