King Charles III delivers the King’s Speech in the House of Lords Chamber during the State Opening of Parliament on May 13, 2026, in London, England.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay, Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud and others during a meeting, in Bhutan. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, along with his Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Chogyal Dago Rigdzin, presided over the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) aimed at enhancing judicial and legal cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

Besides the Chief Justice, the CJI, who was on an official visit to Bhutan from October 7 to October 10, also met the king of the Himalayan country, Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck and Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay, and discussed a range of issues with them, including the “unique and special ties of friendship and cooperation” between the two countries.

On October 9, Justice Chandrachud discussed ways to strengthen bilateral judicial cooperation with his Bhutanese counterpart.

“At the premises of the Supreme Court of Bhutan, the two Chief Justices presided over the signing of four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), aimed at enhancing judicial and legal cooperation between India and Bhutan. These included the signing of an MoU between the two Supreme Courts on enhancing judicial cooperation; the renewal of an MoU between the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal and the Bhutan National Legal Institute on collaboration in legal education and capacity building between the two institutions; the renewal of an MoU between the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru and the JSW School of Law on legal education and research; and the signing of an MoU between the Indian Council of Arbitration and the Bhutan Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre on collaboration to strengthen and promote arbitration and mediation,” the top court said in a statement.

The CJI graced the third convocation ceremony of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck (JSW) School of Law on October 8 and delivered an inspiring commencement address.

Justice Chandrachud turned philosophical and said he had served his country with “utmost dedication” amid “fears and anxieties” as to how history will judge his tenure, the statement said.

He also said there is a misconceived perception that the traditional values of communities in India and Bhutan are antithetical to modern democratic ideas, such as liberty, equality and dissent.

The ceremony was presided over by Bhutanese Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck, founding president of the JSW School of Law, Bhutan National Legal Institute and Bar Council of Bhutan.

On October 9, the CJI addressed a gathering on the topic — “Enhancing Judicial Accountability and Public Trust: Leveraging Transparency and Technology”.

Judges are supposed to act in a manner that is “unencumbered” by popular morality while deciding constitutional and legal questions, the CJI said, adding that institutional trust in courts and their credibility is the very basis of a thriving constitutional order.

“The CJI’s visit to Bhutan has enabled both sides to lay out a robust framework for enhanced cooperation in the judicial and legal sectors. The visit reaffirmed the exemplary bilateral partnership characterised by trust, goodwill and mutual understanding at all levels,” the statement said.

The British royal family is expressing solidarity with Israel following the unexpected attacks by Hamas operatives that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 civilians over the past weekend. While the King and other senior members of the royal family have denounced the attacks, Prince William and Kate Middleton issued a joint statement on Wednesday evening strongly condemning Hamas’ brutal act of violence.

The BBC reported, quoting Palace sources, that the King was “appalled”, and condemned the “barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel”. The Prince and Princess of Wales are “profoundly distressed” by the events since strikes began on Saturday, according to their spokesman. He said the couple believes all Israelis and Palestinians will be “stalked by grief, fear, and anger”.

“A spokesperson for The Prince and Princess of Wales said, ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales are profoundly distressed by the devastating events that have unfolded in the past few days. The horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack upon Israel are appalling; they utterly condemn them,” the statement shared on microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, read.

pic.twitter.com/lh3f5lusNx

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 11, 2023

“As Israel exercises its right to self-defense, all Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be stalked by grief, fear, and anger in the time to come. They hold all the victims, their families, and their friends in their hearts and minds. Those the Prince of Wales met in 2018 overwhelmingly shared a common hope-that of a better future.”

“In the midst of such terrible suffering, the Prince and Princess continue to share that hope without reservation.”

Meanwhile, Israeli forces reported that approximately 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians, had lost their lives in the Hamas attack, marking it as the most devastating in the nation’s history.

As Israel pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated enclave of 2.3 million people, in response, the number of deaths there has also reached 1,200 people, including a high number of civilians, according to Palestinian authorities.

More than 338,000 people in the enclave have been displaced, according to the United Nations.

(With inputs from agencies)