NEW DELHI: The outgoing Chief Justice of India got emotional on his last working day on Friday and reflected on his tenure saying “there is no greater feeling than being able to serve those in need”.
CJI Chandrachud will retire on November 10 but today was his last official working day.
A ceremonial four-judge bench convened to bid farewell, including CJI-designate Sanjiv Khanna, Justices J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra. The CJI conveyed profound satisfaction for his accomplishments and the privilege of serving the nation.
“You asked me what keeps me going. It is this court which has kept me going because there is not a single day when you feel that you have not learned something, that you have not had an opportunity to serve the society,” a teary-eyed CJI said.
“And there is no greater feeling than being able to serve those in need and the people you would never meet, people you possibly do not even know, people whose lives you have the ability to affect without ever having seen them,” he added.
Following in the footsteps of his distinguished father YV Chandrachud, who served as CJI from 1978 to 1985, he assumed office on November 9, 2022.
CJI-designate Khanna, along with prominent legal figures including the attorney general, solicitor general, and SCBA president Kapil Sibal, offered heartfelt tributes to mark this significant moment in India’s judicial history.
In his farewell speech, CJI Chandrachud shared his progression from being a law student seated in the back row to presiding over the Supreme Court. He emphasised the honour of serving the nation, noting how each day provided opportunities for professional and personal development.
“I was always aware of the overpowering presence of the greats of this court and the responsibility that came with sitting in this chair. But at the end of the day, it is not about the individual, it is about the institution and the cause of justice we uphold here,” the CJI stated.
He praised his colleagues, particularly noting his collaboration with Justices Pardiwala and Misra, acknowledging how their varied perspectives enhanced their collective work.
The CJI expressed confidence in Justice Khanna’s future leadership, describing his successor as “dignified, stable and deeply committed to justice”.
In his closing remarks, CJI Chandrachud thanked everyone who contributed to his journey, from senior advocates to staff members. He also sought forgiveness for any inadvertent mistakes, saying, “If I have ever hurt anyone, I seek your forgiveness.”
Justice Khanna commended the CJI, noting, “He has made my task easy and tough. Easy because of the revolutions ushered in and tough because I cannot walk up to him. He will be sorely missed. His youthfulness is not known here only but also abroad. In Australia, there were so many who came to me and asked what his age was.”
Sibal characterised the CJI as “the extraordinary son of an extraordinary father”.
“I have practised in this court for 52 years now and in my life, I have never seen a judge with the kind of limitless patience that you have, the ever-smiling Dr Chandrachud,” the SCBA president remarked.
“What can I say about you as a human being and you as a judge? As a judge, your conduct was exemplary. No one can match it. You reached out to communities in this country who were never heard before, who were not seen before. You brought them before you and showed what dignity meant for them,” he added.
“Be it liberty, be it fraternity, be it life, be it the life of ordinary, marginalised challenged people, you have, unlike your father, dealt with this court when the court was tumultuous. You have dealt with the court when matters were tumultuous. You took them head on, unafraid of the consequences. Your greatest legacy to this court that there will be none like you…,” he stated.
Former attorney general KK Venugopal shared, “When your father asked me should I advise him (Justice Chandrachud) to continue at the bar or take judgeship, I said he is a great lawyer and let him continue in the same. But you took up judgeship and thank god. If you had listened to me, then we would have lost such a great judge.”
Born on November 11, 1959, Justice Chandrachud has achieved notable success in the judiciary.
His cricket enthusiasm began in his youth, when he played in his father’s Lutyens’ Delhi residence backyard.
The Bombay high court designated him as a senior advocate in June 1998. He served as additional solicitor general before his appointment as a Bombay High Court judge on March 29, 2000. He later became the Allahabad High Court’s chief justice on October 31, 2013.
Justice Chandrachud earned a BA in Economics from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, an LLB from Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre, and an LLM and Doctorate in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School.
Landmark judgements
Throughout his two-year tenure, CJI Chandrachud delivered numerous landmark judgments. A notable ruling came from the Constitution Bench he headed, which validated the abrogation of some clauses of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
In another crucial verdict, he maintained the existing Special Marriage Act framework, choosing not to extend it to same-sex marriages, leaving this matter for parliamentary consideration. Nevertheless, he strongly affirmed the LGBTQ+ community’s fundamental rights to dignity and protection from discrimination.
His tenure culminated in a significant ruling that abolished the electoral bonds scheme, establishing stricter requirements for transparency in political funding and directing the State Bank of India to stop issuing electoral bonds.