Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), has stated that his motivation for serving as a judge for the past 24 years has been to improve the life of the average person. After leading the Indian judiciary for two years, he will step down on Sunday, therefore Friday was his last day in court.
Renowned for his rulings that have included decriminalizing homosexuality, declaring privacy a fundamental right, resolving the Ayodhya title dispute case, abolishing electoral bonds, granting permanent commissions to female officers in the defense forces, and upholding the repeal of Article 370, Justice Chandrachud claimed to be among the judges who are “most trolled” on social media. The CJI was recently involved in a controversy after claiming to have consulted God before rendering a decision in the Ayodhya issue and hosting a Ganesh Puja at his home with Prime Minister Narendra Modi present.
“There is no better disinfectant than sunlight. Exposing your personal life exposes you to criticism. However, we are able to accept this criticism,” the CJI stated, before jokingly adding, “What will happen starting on Monday? I will make everyone who trolled me unemployed”.
Justice Chandrachud was addressing at a goodbye event hosted by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), which was chaired by Sanjiv Khanna, the CJI-designate, who on Monday takes the oath of office as India’s 51st Chief Justice.
According to the CJI, who started his lengthy career as a Bombay high court judge in March 2000, “You realize that you have written important judgments in the last 24 years.” However, the way our rulings affect the lives of regular people is what has motivated me as a judge. He gave examples of how the top court’s intervention enabled visually impaired candidates to run for Rajasthan’s judicial selection, a Dalit boy to gain admission to IIT, a person with a 40% benchmark disability to enroll in an MBBS program, and a lawyer with hearing loss to have a sign language interpreter during an argument in the top court.
It will be hard for him to match CJI Chandrachud’s vigor and history, Justice Khanna said, and the top court will notice the shift starting Monday. “He has rendered 38 Constitution bench decisions,” the CJI-designate added, referring to his predecessor as a scholar and a jurist. This will be the record that never gets broken! Justice Khanna pointed out that the CJI’s judgments demonstrated his scholarly ability, that his compassion was demonstrated by allowing people with disabilities to operate a cafe in the Supreme Court complex and by making courts accessible to them, and that his unwavering work ethic and high standards of self-discipline served as an example for everyone. By implementing paperless courts, video conferencing, live-streaming, e-filing, artificial intelligence-powered decision translation, and a dedicated war room to gather case management data, he gave the CJI credit for integrating technology into court operations. “Technology has been brought to the litigant’s doorstep, making the lives of litigants and lawyers more comfortable,” he stated.
“We are here as pilgrims, birds that come for a short time,” the Chief Justice of India stated earlier in the day as he held the ceremonial bench with Justice Khanna and two other judges for the final time. This court won’t be the least bit the less I go, especially since I know that Justice Khanna, who will take my place, is a very honorable person. This court is in capable, steady, and knowledgeable hands.
“In my 52 years, I have not seen a judge like CJI with limitless patience, reaching out to communities that were never seen before, be it the lives of marginalized and challenged people, and taking on complex matters like electoral bonds, Article 370, and same-sex marriage head on which past CJIs did not deal with for years,” stated SCBA President and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal during the special bench. “This Chandrachud has outpaced the legacy of his father,” Sibal stated in reference to Chandrachud’s father, former CJI YV Chandrachud. You are a unique individual. “As a lawyer and as a judge, CJI Chandrachud held an extraordinary ability to connect life with law,” stated Justice PS Narasimha, who was promoted from the bar to the highest court in 2021 and who served alongside CJI in some of the recent historic rulings. Justice Chandrachud’s exceptional talent will undoubtedly disseminate his flavor throughout the world, according to another judge, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, who was his college classmate.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated: “For the government, there are cases where we won and we lost,” notwithstanding recent rulings that have gone against the government, including the invalidation of electoral bonds and the rule that states have the authority to impose taxes on industrial alcohol and minerals. However, in each instance, we felt that the bench understood us completely because of your unparalleled intelligence and total objectivity. “Your youthful appearance makes us feel old,” stated senior attorney Abhishek Manu Singhvi. As delivering judgments is a judge’s main responsibility, I have yet to see a judge who has contributed so much to the court’s infrastructure.
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