Y. V. Chandrachud

Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud served as the sixteenth Chief Justice of India from 1978 to 1985, the longest tenure of any chief justice in Indian history at more than seven years. He had joined the Supreme Court in 1972 after service on the Bombay High Court, and during his career he authored 338 judgments including rulings in the Habeas Corpus case, the Minerva Mills case, and the Shah Bano case, and he presided over the bench that sentenced Sanjay Gandhi to prison in the Kissa Kursi Ka case. His strict judicial approach earned him the nickname Iron Hands, and he maintained this posture despite political pressure during Indira Gandhi's government.