New Delhi:

SCBA president and senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Friday said that outgoing Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud allowed people to criticise judges and transformed the judicial landscape by allowing online access to court proceedings and addressing complexities that previous chief justices had not tackled.

Mr Sibal was speaking at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) where he said that Justice Chandrachud expanded equality and that he will be remembered for his judgements, manner, simplicity, affability, and patience, “all attributes of one of the greatest judges of this country”.

He said that Chief Justice Chandrachud had to match up to the quality and the achievement of his father, who was a Chief Justice of India for seven years and 14 days, and claimed that he “truly outpaced” him.

“You’ve given access to millions of people to watch how judges are doing, how they are delivering justice. One day there’s going to be a forensic audit. You allowed people to criticise you. What can be braver than that… You’ve been a pioneer, a torchbearer and a ground-breaking innovator… You’ll be remembered for being one of the patient judges,” he said.

He said that Chief Justice Chandrachud’s tenure was “deeply rich, generative, bringing with it the development of a vast landscape of the law, thereby impacting the future course of the justice delivery system.” “Through your judgments, you demonstrated a willingness to chart unknown waters and to reflect that this Chandrachud has perhaps exceeded the legacy of his father, who was the longest-standing CJI of India,” Mr Sibal said.

He said that Justice Chandrachud will be remembered on the yardstick of how often he has moved towards perfection, to defend life and liberty, and to serve the cause of equality.

“Ultimately the legacy of any judge is measured as to how he has sought to safeguard the citizen’s right, and in that regard, it is beyond any doubt that Chief Justice Chandrachud has rendered some phenomenal judgments,” he said.

He noted that in the privacy judgment, Justice Chandrachud tried to grapple with the complexities of today, which are far greater than those of the past.

“Now how do you build a society when the march of technology is so oppressive that it will destroy the very dignity of the individual and the independence of a human being? “These are the challenges we are going to meet, and to the extent to those challenges, you have already tried to grapple with in the judgements you’ve delivered, take for example the privacy judgment,” he said.

Mr Sibal said that Chief Justice Chandrachud was willing to deal with complex issues.

“I dare say that the past CJIs would not allow themselves to deal with those decisions for years — whether it was Article 370 judgment or same-sex marriage judgment or electoral bonds, or any of those very large issues that actually changed the contours of our being.

“You were willing to take it forward. You were willing to address, and you addressed them with great clarity. We must thank you for all that you have done, and salute you for the fact that were willing, ready to deal with those complexities,” Mr Sibal added.

Chief Justice Chandrachud expanded equality by embracing diversity, Mr Sibal said, adding, “You’re a trailblazer in this regard, for the kind of protection you granted to disability rights. You were a staunch votary of nothing about us is without us.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A view of Supreme Court of India. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court on April 5 dismissed a plea seeking transportation of the mortal remains of Sufi saint Hazrat Shah Muhammad Abdul Muqtadir Shah Masood Ahmad from Bangladesh to India.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud said there is no constitutionally enforceable right to seek transportation of the Sufi saint’s mortal remains as he was a Pakistani citizen.

“He is a Pakistani citizen, how can you expect the Union of India to bring his burials in India?” the Bench asked. The counsel, appearing for petitioner Dargah Hazrat Mulla Syed, said the saint has no family in Pakistan, whereas, at the dargah in Uttar Pradesh, he was the Sajjada-nasheen (spiritual head).

The lawyer told the top court that the saint was born in Prayagraj, then called Allahabad, and migrated to Pakistan. He got Pakistani citizenship in 1992.

“He was elected as the Sajjada Nasheen of the shrine viz. Dargah Hazrat Mulla Syed Mohammad Shah in 2008 in Prayagraj. He executed his will in 2021 expressing a desire to be buried in the shrine. He died in Dhaka where he was buried. There are difficulties in entertaining such a petition.

“Hazrat Shah was a Pakistani citizen and has no constitutional right… the practical difficulties related to exhumation. As a matter of first principle, it would not be right for this court to direct the transportation of the mortal remains of a citizen of a foreign state in India,” the Bench, also comprising Justices J. B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.

New Delhi:

Yoga at 3:30 in the morning and a vegan diet – Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud today recommended a holistic lifestyle to tackle work-related stress that he and his colleagues face. 

Inaugurating an AYUSH holistic wellness centre at the Supreme Court today, the Chief Justice said the significance of such practices is not only good for judges and their families but also for the well-being of the entire Supreme Court staff.

“I practice yoga. I woke up at 3:30 this morning to do yoga. Additionally, I have been following a vegan diet for the last 5 months. I am trying to focus on a holistic pattern of life, which begins with what you eat, of course, and what you put into your system,” CJI Chandrachud said, as quoted by news agency ANI. 

The chief justice highlighted the stress faced by the Supreme Court staff, including the 34 judges who handle a substantial workload of files. Drawing from his personal experience, CJI Chandrachud shared, “I underwent Panchakarma about a year ago, and I am looking forward to doing it again now, as it is the turn of the season. However, we have over 2000 staff members in the Supreme Court, including our colleagues, all 34 judges who bear tremendous stress in their daily work, leading to a heavy workload of files.” 

“I believe it’s important to consider a holistic lifestyle, not just for the judges and their immediate families, but also for the staff members. Through them, we can propagate this message for the rest of the country,” he added.

Dedicated to the well-being of the legal community, the AYUSH holistic wellness centre aims to promote Ayurveda and holistic practices specifically for judges, their families, and staff of the Supreme Court.