Page 9 - D Y Chandrachud

Citizens should not be afraid of approaching courts: CJI Chandrachud

The Supreme Court has acted as a "people's court" and citizens should not be afraid of going to courts or view it as the last resort, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said on Sunday. Justice Chandrachud said just as the Constitution allows us to resolve political differences through established democratic institutions and processes, the courts system helps in resolving many disagreements through established principles and processes. "In this way, every case in every court in the country is an extension of constitutional governance," the CJI said while speaking at the inauguration of the Constitution Day celebrations at the apex court. President Droupadi Murmu delivered the inaugural address at the programme, which was also attended by apex court judges Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and others. In his address, the CJI said, "In the last seven decades, the Supreme Court of India has acted as a people's court. Thousand

India came out of adverse situations due to its Constitution, says Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said India was able to strengthen democracy as the judiciary and the governments did their work. He also said that India fared better than its neighbours due to its Constitution, which he described as a living document. Addressing an event in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud to celebrate Constitution Day, the minister said the country has been able to come out of adverse situations due to its Constitution. "Countries around us got independence -- Pakistan attained independence with us; Sri Lanka got independence before us but disturbance, Nepal there was disturbance, there was disturbance in Myanmar," he said adding Bangladesh also faced problems. "But there is only one key reason as to why we moved in the right direction. We had the living document, the Constitution," he said. The minister said India came out several adverse situations due to the Constitution. "We came out of variou

Plea for review of same-sex marriages verdict in SC for open court hearing

A petition seeking review of the October 17 verdict refusing to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriages was on Thursday mentioned before the Supreme Court for an open court hearing. A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, that the review plea needed to be heard in open court to redress the grievances of those seeking validation of same-sex marriages. The bench also comprised Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. I have not examined the (review) petition. Let me circulate it (among judges of that constitution bench), the CJI said. All the judges of the constitution bench were of the view that there was some kind of discrimination against queer persons and hence they needed relief as well, Rohatgi said. According to the apex court registry, the review plea was listed for consideration on November 28, he said. In the first week of November, one of the petitioners had mo

SC upholds validity of key provisions of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld certain key provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) amid the claim of several petitioners that that they are violative of fundamental rights like the right to equality of those against whom insolvency proceedings are initiated. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra decided as many as 391 petitions challenging various provisions of the IBC. Many pleas challenged the constitutional validity of sections 95(1), 96(1), 97(5), 99(1), 99(2), 99(4), 99(5), 99(6) and 100 of the Code. These provisions deal with the various stages of insolvency proceedings against a defaulting firm or individuals. Upholding the provisions to be constitutionally valid, the bench held that they did not suffer from arbitrariness as contended. "The IBC cannot be held to be operating in a retroactive manner in order to hold it violative of the Constitution. Thus, we hold that the statute does not suffer from

Heeralal Samariya sworn in as CIC, becomes first Dalit to hold post

The jurisdiction of the Commission extends over all Central Public Authorities

SC sets up panel for appointment of members to Delhi power regulator DERC

The Supreme Court on Monday set up a three-member selection panel for short-listing and appointing two temporary members of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the selection committee will comprise Justice Jayant Nath, former Delhi High Court judge and present pro tem DERC head, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, the chairperson of APTEL (Appellate Tribunal for Electricity) and Justice Asha Menon, a former Delhi High Court judge. The bench said the selection panel shall recommend two names for each position with information regarding their ability, integrity and domain knowledge, preferably within one month. The names of short-listed candidates will be forwarded to the office of the lieutenant governor of Delhi and the chief minister for appointment, it added. The bench said the panel will be free to devise methods for selection of the members of the national capital's power regulatory

SC asks for national model for girls' toilets in govt-aided schools

The Supreme Court Monday directed the Centre to lay down a national model for building toilets commensurate with the number of girl students in all government-aided and residential schools across the country. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud also asked the Union government about the policy it has formulated for distribution of sanitary napkins to female school students nationally. The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said the Centre should bring uniformity in the procedure for distribution of sanitary napkins. During the hearing, the Centre informed the apex court that a draft national policy for distribution of sanitary napkins free of cost to school-going girls has been formulated and sent to stakeholders for eliciting their comments. The top court had earlier warned the states, which had not submitted their response to the Centre on formulating a uniform national policy on menstrual hygiene for girls studying in schools, that it will t

SC to hear on Monday Punjab govt's plea against guv's delay in nod to bills

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea moved by the Punjab government on the issue of alleged delay in granting assent by Governor Banwarilal Purohit on bills passed by the Assembly. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear the plea, which has also sought directions to the governor to clear all pending bills, which have been passed by the Assembly and are awaiting his assent. The plea has said such "unconstitutional inaction" has brought the entire administration to a "grinding halt". It has said the governor cannot indefinitely sit over the bills as he has restricted powers under Article 200 of the Constitution, which deals with the governor's power to give or withhold assent or reserve a bill for the president's consideration. The Punjab governor is involved in a running feud with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. On November 1, Purohit gave his approval to tw

Legislature can enact fresh law to cure deficiency, can't overrule it: CJI

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said the legislature can enact a fresh law to cure a deficiency in a judgment but it cannot directly overrule it. Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here, Chandrachud said judges don't think about how the society would respond when they decide cases and that is the difference between the elected arm of the government and the judiciary. "There is a dividing line between what the legislature can do, and what the legislature can't do when there is a judgment of the court. If a judgment decides a particular issue and it points out a deficiency in law, it is always open for the legislature to enact a fresh law to cure the deficiency," the CJI said. "What the legislature cannot do is to say that we think the judgment is wrong and therefore we overrule the judgment. The judgment of a court cannot be directly overruled by the legislature," the CJI said. He also said judges are guided by constitutional morality and not public morality

SC rejects plea against transfer of Gyanvapi case from one court to another

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee's plea challenging the Allahabad High Court chief justice's administrative decision withdraw the Gyanvapi case from a single-judge bench hearing it since 2021. The single-judge bench was hearing the plea challenging the maintainability of a suit seeking restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists in Varanasi. Dismissed, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said after hearing the submissions of senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, who represented the mosque committee. We should not interfere with the order of the chief justice of the high court...In high courts, it is a very standard practice. This must lie in the realm of the chief justice of the high court, the bench said. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) is challenging the withdrawal of the case from one single judge bench and its assignment to some other bench by the

Don't want Supreme Court to become 'tarikh-pe-tarikh' court: Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday urged lawyers not to seek adjournments in fresh matters, saying he does not want the Supreme Court to become a 'tarikh-pe-tarikh' court. At the outset of the day's proceedings, the CJI flagged the issue of lawyers seeking adjournments in fresh matters and said in the last two months adjournment slips were moved in 3,688 matters by advocates. "Unless it is very very necessary, please don't file the adjournment slips...I don't want this court to be a tarikh-pe-tarikh' court," the CJI, who was sharing the bench with justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. "Tarikh-pe-Tarikh" (repeated adjournments) was a famous Sunny Deol dialogue in Bollywood film "Damini" where the actor rued the adjournment culture in courts. The CJI said that now with the help of lawyers' bodies, the time gap in the listing of fresh matters after their filing in the top court has been significantly reduced. He, however, rued the fact that after their listing

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Sometimes it's vote of conscience: CJI on judgement on queer couples

CJI Chandrachud was speaking at the 3rd Comparative Constitutional Law discussion on the topic 'Perspectives from the Supreme Courts of India and the United States'

Legal system often played key role in perpetuating historical wrongs: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has said that unfortunately the legal system has often played a "pivotal role" in perpetuating "historical wrongs" against marginalised social groups and the harm caused by this can persist for generations. Chandrachud delivered the keynote address at the Sixth International Conference on the Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar' at the Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, on Sunday. In his address titled Reformation Beyond Representation: The Social Life of the Constitution in Remedying Historical Wrongs', Chandrachud said that throughout history, marginalised social groups have been subjected to horrendous, egregious wrongs, often stemming from prejudice, discrimination and unequal power dynamics. From the brutal transatlantic slave trade that forcibly uprooted millions of Africans, the Native American displacement, caste inequalities in India affecting millions of backward castes to the oppression of indigenous Adivasi communities

CJI Chandrachud receives Harvard Law School's 'Award for Global Leadership'

The Chief Justice fondly remembered his time at Harvard as an LLM student in 1982-83 and then as an SJD candidate in 1983-1986

SC summons 2 NCLAT members for defying order, slams 'rot' in tribunal

A bench, which also had justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked the two NCLAT members to appear before the Supreme Court on October 30

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RSS welcomes SC decision not to grant recognition to same-sex marriage

The majority verdict of the court said there are no adoption rights for queer couples. While Narasimha agreed with Bhat and Kohli in not granting the right, Chandrachud and Kaul were in favour

Same-sex marriage: Here's what CJI Chandrachud said in his judgement

CJI Chandrachud on Tuesday said, 'The right to enter into union includes the right to choose one's partner and the right to recognition of that union'

Five-judge SC bench refuses to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, who was heading the bench pronouncing its verdict on 21 pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages, said the court can't make law but only interpret it and it is for Parliament to change the Special Marriage Act. At the outset, Justice Chandrachud said there are four judgments -- by himself, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha -- in the matter. Justice Hima Kohli is also a part of the five-judge bench. Directing the Centre, states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the queer community is not discriminated against, the CJI, who is heading the constitution bench, said queer is a natural phenomenon known for ages and is neither urban nor elitist. Justice Kaul said he agrees with the CJI on grant of certain rights to queer couples. "Non-heterosexual and heterosexual unions must be seen