A judge who could pave the way to legalizing gay marriage in India took charge Wednesday as chief justice at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda dominates politics and throws up challenges for the court.
As a judge on the top court Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was a member of the five-member bench that decriminalized gay sex. He also ruled that same-sex couples and other non-traditional families are entitled to social benefits, another step in India’s slow but gradual easing of colonial-era, anti-LGBTQ laws.
