“It is good for a judge to remind himself or herself of the fact that flattery is the graveyard of the gullible,” said then-Supreme Court Justice Dr. DY Chandrachud, in one of his judgements. While being alive to this thought of his and how he handles encomiums, here’s why the new Chief Justice of India (CJI), Dr Chandrachud means the dawn of hope to new India. The new CJI is known for his pleasant demeanour, youthful energy, sharp intellect, and distinguished legal acumen. This vivacity is reflected with greater vigour in his judgements – on the right to privacy, decriminalising homosexuality, and adultery, his dissent in the Aadhaar case, abortion rights to unmarried women and to married women who are victims of marital rape, women’s equality rights to work-right to Permanent Commission in the Army, recognising and protecting against intersectional discrimination, reasonable accommodation in respect of the disabled, maternity benefit to mothers who conceive through surrogacy, acknowledging the changing definition of the family and the household, to name the star judgements of the many erudite ones he has authored.
His journey in epoch-making began two decades ago, and the expectations from him as a CJI are at an all-time high, with the addition of administrative duties, in terms of judicial appointments, and the arena of efficacious and faster delivery of justice. It is a momentous time for the nation and the judiciary specific that the man who could give flesh and blood to the organic and transformative element of the Indian Constitution, to make it the protective armour of citizen’s rights in all aspects of their life, is at the helm of affairs in a new, changing and evolving India, where the stereotypical definitions are fast changing in all areas of life. It is worth mentioning that the CJI’s commitment to the values that stand out in his judgements is also seen in his interactions with people who work with him. In an article in The Week, one of his former judicial clerks, who is visually disabled, has elaborated on his inclusive experience in working with Justice Dr Chandrachud, when the latter took many steps to implement the principle of ‘reasonable accommodation’ to make his judicial clerk have accessibility and comfort in all aspects of work on par with his sighted counterparts, including the introduction of audio captcha on the Supreme Court website, and directing that all files and written submissions were to be mailed in PDF format so that a screen reader could read all files for the benefit of his judicial clerk.
The constitutional and legal principles applied in his judgements, reflect the welcome progressive thought of the higher judiciary, rejection of artificial distinctions and discrimination, and an equal acceptance of the state of all its citizens, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, social status, and disability, to ensure their equal participation and enjoyment in all areas of life as equal stakeholders of society. The next two years are going to provide him a further chance to be the harbinger of a more sensible judiciary and to usher in systemic reforms in the judiciary. It is entirely for him to raise the bar of the judiciary to its highest, so that it may attract the best talent of the country, given that it is Lady Justice that we must care for, for all time to come.
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