CJI Chandrachud Lacked Courage, Ducked Key Cases, Failed Rule of Law, His Tenure Utterly Forgettable

2 weeks ago 8

"I hope history does not remember Chief Justice Chandrachud and I hope his legacy is forgotten as quickly as possible": Dushyant Dave, leading lawyer and former President, Supreme Court Bar Association, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. .......................................... In what will feel like a damning indictment of Chief Justice Chandrachud, delivered at the start of his last week in office as Chief Justice of India, one of India’s foremost lawyers has said: “I hope history does not remember Chief Justice Chandrachud and I hope his legacy is forgotten as quickly as possible”. Asked if he was saying Chief Justice Chandrachud should be forgotten, Dushyant Dave replied “yes, absolutely”. In a 45-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, to assess Justice Chandrachud’s performance both as a judge and Chief Justice of India as well as the administrative head of the Supreme Court, Dushyant Dave said: “He has disappointed very deeply … my expectations have been seriously belied.” Mr. Dave said when the rule of law and democracy is in danger “Chief Justice Chandrachud not only failed but did not even attempt to succeed.” In an interview two years ago in October 2022, recorded a couple of weeks before Justice Chandrachud took over as Chief Justice of India, Mr. Dave had said: “In politically sensitive matters he has not risen to levels expected of him.” Asked now if that has proven to be the case as Chief Justice, Mr. Dave said: “Definitely yes”. He said as Chief Justice, Justice Chandrachud “pandered to the party in power since 2014”. Mr. Dave was particularly sharp and outspokenly critical while talking about the cases that Justice Chandrachud did not take up. He said “he talks a lot outside court” but his actions fall short. Mr. Dave said there are “many cases where he’s deliberately ducked” adding “he did not have the courage” to take them up. These cases include challenges to the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Hijab case and several love jihad issues. Mr. Dave said Justice Chandrachud bears “a great responsibility” for the fact people like Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam and many of the Bhima Koregaon accused have languished in jail for years without bail. Speaking about Justice Chandrachud’s decision to take away the Collegium case regarding the appointment of judges by the government from Justice Sanjay Kaul, Mr. Dave said this “amounts virtually to contempt of Court”. He said Justice Chandrachud did this “to save embarrassment to the government” adding “it was shameful” and asserting that Justice Chandrachud “owes an explanation to the country”. Mr. Dave said this was clearly “dereliction of duty” and “against every cannon of judicial power”. Speaking about the Article 370 judgement, Mr. Dave said the five judges headed by Justice Chandrachud “misdirected themselves in law” and the result was “a serious miscarriage of justice”. He said “the judgement is wrong”. Speaking about the electoral bonds judgement wherein the bonds were declared unconstitutional and struck down but the Supreme Court stopped short of recovering the money or punishing anyone, Mr. Dave said this was a case of “operation successful, patient dead”. Mr. Dave clearly suggested that Justice Chandrachud “lacked courage” to take the matter to the required logical conclusion. Mr. Dave suggested Justice Chandrachud was constantly seeking publicity, adding his appearances in the media “were second only to the Prime Minister”. He said India has never had a judge who is “as media savvy as him”. He said he believed the redesign of Lady Justitia i.e. removing her blind fold and replacing the sword with the constitution was done because it would appeal to the media. I will stop there. As you can see there’s an awful lot in this interview that is sharp, stinging and even searing. However, it’s not just comments and criticisms. In each instance Mr. Dave backs up his critique with details and facts. The interview also discusses things I haven’t mentioned in this press release i.e. the Ayodhya Judgement, Justice Chandrachud’s earlier judgements on homosexuality, adultery and Sabarimala as well as his 2017 criticism of his father’s judgement in the ADM Jabalpur case which Justice Chandrachud called “seriously flawed”. Mr Dave clearly says that in these instances Justice Chandrachud was probably moved by the fact that these verdicts would go down well with public opinion and was therefore “sailing with the wind”. There are also questions about the electoral officer in Chandigarh and the Shinde-Fadnavis-Pawar case. Here is the link to the interview: Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWtJey46brNr7qHQpN6KLQ/join

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