“Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question”.
This was a statement Dr. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud quoted from the book “21 Lessons for 21st Century” written by Yuval Noval Harari in the 2020 Arnab Goswami Case.
The 50th Current Chief Justice of India who sworn in on 9th November, 2022 is known for his reformative approach towards the Indian judicial system and his open dissent to certain aspects of law. His father, Justice Y. V. Chandrachud till date, is the longest serving Chief Justice of India, who held office for 7 years. Interestingly, they are the first father-son duo in the country, both of whom occupied the highest seat of jury.
Dr. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud is particularly revered for his participation in landmark judgements such as the Bhima Koregaon Case and K. S Puttaswamy (Right to Privacy) case. Constitutional benches led by him recently allowed abortion for women between 20-24 weeks, and women officers getting permanent commissions and command posting in the Indian Navy.
Here are some highlights from his speech in November 2022 during the felicitation ceremony organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in his honor.
The CJI was describing anecdotes and sharing lessons from his professional life, starting from a junior advocate paid less than 100 Rupees for a briefing to becoming the Chief Justice of India.
ON JUDGES:
His speech reflected his openness towards learning something new everyday, in his entire judicial journey. He pointed out that a judge cannot be expected to know everything, that ‘a long-lasting assumption of a judge in the first 10 cases may be broken when dealing with the 11th case’. Nevertheless, a chief justice or a judge earns respect depending on how they carry out their basic functions.
He also highlighted how his exposure to several judges including Justice P. D. Desai in the Bombay High Court fostered the ‘intuitive sense of justice’ in then young advocates like him. He recalled the sight of litigants reminding him the plight of common man, like a young labourer, a widow seeking family pension etc. He added a humorous anecdote of how he drove longer routes in his 1966 Model Ambassador while dropping Senior Advocates in order to yield meaningful conversations with them about their professions.
The CJI expressed his sincere gratitude at being where he was, to the bar, quoting that ‘there cannot be a stream without a source’ and he symbolised the stream.
EQUALITY OVER SUB-ORDINATION:
An eye-opener statement the CJI made was on the system of Sub-ordination. He pointed that a conscious effort should be initiated to stop the labelling of District Judiciaries as ‘sub-ordinate’; that District Judiciaries are the cornerstone of the judicial system which confront the grass-root realities of the society; improving their infrastructure is equally important. He also praised that the number of women enrolling in District Judiciaries has recently witnessed a substantial increase.
He affirmed that he would endeavour in the future, to inculcate the weight of experiences of his colleagues, regardless of the professional hierarchy, realising that their collective experiences could contribute to strengthening the Indian Judiciary. The CJI praised the younger generation’s efforts in law towards creating an ‘Equal Judiciary’ in the near future and urged to eliminate the colonial mindset.
TECHNOLOGY : NEED OF THE HOUR
Dr. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud highlighted the necessity to employ technology in order to remove defects and enable access to all professionals to promote inclusion and a better transparency of the court proceedings. He also pin-pointed the question of the hour is not only about which CJI established an Ad Hoc solution to a problem, but on how such needs are institutionalised such that their solutions sustain in the long term.
Last, but not the least, a thought-provoking and unforgettable statement made by the CJI:
“I am not here to do miracles. The challenges are high. Perhaps the expectations are also great. But this is what I tell myself everyday that if this were to be the last day of my life, have I left the world a better place?”
To know more, watch the video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9eTmptba78
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