On the final day of his tenure as the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud delivered a message from the ceremonial bench and acknowledged the reality that he would no longer serve as the country’s top judge.
“I won’t be able to deliver justice from tomorrow, but I am content,” he said.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, who assumed office on November 9, 2022, bid farewell to his position today after his two-year term ended. Recalling a lighthearted moment with his registrar judicial the previous evening, he shared, “When my registrar judicial asked me what time the ceremonial should begin, I said 2 pm, thinking it would allow us to wrap up a lot of pending items. But I wondered to myself-will anyone actually be here at 2 pm on a Friday afternoon? Or will I just be left looking at myself on the screen?”
Reflecting on his career, he described the role of judges as akin to pilgrims, coming to court each day with a commitment to serve. “The work we do can make or break cases,” he said. He paid tribute to the “great judges who have adorned this court and passed on the baton,” adding that he felt reassured leaving the bench in the capable hands of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, whom he praised as an able leader.
“If I have ever hurt anyone in the court, please forgive me for that,” he said, quoting the Jain phrase “Michhami Dukkadam,” which translates to “May all my misdeeds be forgiven.”
Lawyers and members of the bar gathered to honour the outgoing Chief Justice, describing him as “a rock star” of the judiciary.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been nominated as his successor and will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on November 11, said, “I never had the chance to appear in Justice Chandrachud’s court, but what he has done for the marginalised and the needy is beyond compare.”
He added a personal anecdote about Justice Chandrachud’s fondness for samosas, remarking that they were served in nearly every meeting, though the Chief Justice himself refrained from eating them.
Justice Chandrachud’s tenure saw many changes within the court, from the establishment of Mitti Cafe, a facility empowering individuals with disabilities, to a dedicated bar room for women lawyers, alongside other beautification projects for the Supreme Court premises.
In his two-year term, Justice Chandrachud authored a series of landmark judgments. Notably, he presided over the Constitution Bench upholding the revocation of Article 370, which redefined the politics of Jammu and Kashmir, ordering that elections be conducted by September 2024 and stressing the need to restore statehood “at the earliest and as soon as possible.”
In another significant judgement, Justice Chandrachud declined to alter the Special Marriage Act to recognise same-sex marriages, deferring to the legislature. However, he insisted on the right of the LGBTQ+ community to be treated with dignity, free from discrimination.
Justice Chandrachud also led the decision to dismantle the controversial electoral bonds scheme, mandating greater transparency in political financing and ordering the State Bank of India to cease issuing electoral bonds.
