India
CJI DY Chandrachud’s emotional farewell speech: ‘There is no greater feeling than being able to serve people in need’ | India News – Times of India
CJI DY Chandrachud. (PTI)
CJI Chandrachud will retire on November 10, but today was his last official day.
A ceremonial bench of four judges met to take leave, including CJI-appointed Sanjiv Khanna, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The CJI expressed deep satisfaction at his achievements and the privilege of serving the nation.
“You asked me what keeps me going. It is this court that 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 the opportunity to serve the society,” she said in tears. -eyed CJI said.
“And there is no greater feeling than being able to serve people in need and the people you would never meet, people you may not even know, people whose lives you can touch without ever meeting them,” he added.
Following in the footsteps of his eminent father YV Chandrachud, who was CJI from 1978 to 1985, he assumed office on November 9, 2022.
CJI candidate Khanna, along with prominent legal figures including the Attorney General, Attorney General and SCBA President Kapil Sibal, paid heartfelt tributes to mark this important moment in India’s judicial history.
In his valedictory address, CJI Chandrachud shared his rise from a law student in the back row to President of the Supreme Court. He emphasized the honor of serving the nation and noted how each day provided opportunities for professional and personal development.
‘I was always aware of the overwhelming presence of the greats of this court and of the responsibility that came with sitting in this chair. But ultimately it is not about the individual but the institution and cause of justice that we uphold here,” the CJI said.
He commended his colleagues, particularly noting his collaboration with Justices Pardiwala and Misra, and recognized how their diverse perspectives enhanced their collective work.
The CJI expressed confidence in Justice Khanna’s future leadership and described 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 lawyers to associates. He also sought forgiveness for any unintentional mistakes, saying, “If I have ever hurt anyone, I ask your forgiveness.”
Justice Khanna praised the CJI and observed, “He has made my job easy and tough. Easy because of the revolutions that have been ushered in and tough because I cannot walk to him. He will be dearly missed. His youthfulness is not only known here , but also abroad. In Australia, so many people came to me and asked his age.”
Sibal characterized the CJI as “the extraordinary son of an extraordinary father”.
“I have been practicing in this court for 52 years now and in my life I have never seen a judge with the boundless patience that you have, the ever-smiling Dr. Chandrachud,” the SCBA chairman noted.
“What can I say about you as a human being and about you as a judge? As a judge your conduct was exemplary. No one can match that. You have reached out to communities in this country that have never been heard before, that have not been seen. You have brought before you before and showed what dignity meant to them,” he added.
“Whether it is freedom, whether it is brotherhood, whether it is life, whether it is the life of ordinary, marginalized, challenged people, you, unlike your father, have dealt with this court when the court was tumultuous. You dealt with the court when things were tumultuous. You dealt with them head-on, unafraid of the consequences. Your greatest legacy to this court is that there will be no one like you…’, he declared.
Former Attorney General KK Venugopal said, “When your father asked me whether I should advise him (Judge Chandrachud) to remain at the bar or become a judge, I said he is a great lawyer and I should advise him in the same way. let it continue. But you took on the judgeship. and thank God if you had listened to me we would have lost such a great judge.”
Born on November 11, 1959, Judge Chandrachud has achieved remarkable success in the judiciary.
His cricketing enthusiasm started in his childhood, when he played in the backyard of his father, Lutyens, in Delhi.
The Bombay High Court appointed him as a senior advocate in June 1998. He served as Additional Solicitor General before his appointment as a Judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000. He later became the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on October 31, 2013.
Justice Chandrachud received a BA in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, an LLB from the Campus Law Center of Delhi University, and an LLM and PhD in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School.
Historical judgments
During his two-year tenure, CJI Chandrachud made numerous historic statements. A notable ruling came from the Constitution Bench he headed, which upheld the abrogation of some clauses of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
In another crucial ruling, he upheld the existing framework of the Special Marriage Act, choosing not to extend it to same-sex marriages, leaving the issue to parliamentary consideration. Nevertheless, he strongly affirmed the fundamental rights of the LGBTQ+ community to dignity and protection from discrimination.
His tenure culminated in a landmark ruling that abolished the electoral bond scheme, imposed stricter requirements on transparency of political financing and ordered the State Bank of India to stop issuing electoral bonds.
