Srinagar MP criticizes outgoing CJI Chandrachud's legacy

Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Ruhullah Mehdi criticised the outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) Chandrachud’s Babri Masjid verdict accusing him of passing the judgement that aligns with the BJP-led Union government’s stance rather than the Constitution.

“As CJI DY Chandrachud demits office tomorrow, he will be remembered by many of us for drafting and passing a judgment on Babri Masjid in which he rewarded the criminals who as per the judgment itself committed an act of crime by demolishing the mosque. His legacy gets more dangerous when he says that the judgment was not derived only from the constitution and law but was dictated by a deity of a particular religion which was a party in that case”, Mehdi wrote.

CJI Chandrachud was a part of the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by former CJI Ranjan Gogoi settled a fractious issue that went back more than a century by paving the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Recently, the outgoing CJI raised eyebrows when he claimed that he prayed to Lord Ram for a solution to the Ayodhya dispute before delivering the landmark verdict on November 9, 2019.

Abrogation of Article 370

Mehdi also mentioned the revocation of Article 370 which he alleged was abrogated without legal procedure with the lobby of the incumbent government Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Article 370 was a special status to Jammu and Kashmir granted under the rule of the former Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru after an agreement with the founding leader of the National Conference (NC) of J&K, Sheikh Abdullah. On 5 August 2019, the Modi-led government revoked the special status or autonomy of the erstwhile state.

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CJI’s last working day

CJI Chandrachud concluded his last work on Friday, November 8, with a mix of judicial duties and personal reflection as he prepared for retirement on November 10.

His final hours were spent delivering judgements and participating in a debate about his eight years as a Supreme Court judge in which he wrote over 500 judgements, some of the most important of which are the Babri land case and Section 377 of the IPC that criminalised homosexuality.

CJI farewell speech

In a heartfelt farewell speech, CJI Chandrachud expressed gratitude to his colleagues and sought forgiveness for any unintentional hurt caused during his tenure.

He referred to the judges as “birds of a short passage of time”. He used this analogy to express the fact that the mandates of most judges are very limited in the judiciary branch. He emphasized the elements of openness and responsibility in the legal framework, and acknowledging the public pressures that judges experience today, he paraphrased for them the principle: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”.

The legacy of Chief Justice Chandrachud can be described as ambiguous: He authored numerous groundbreaking judgments that set new directions in changing norms and legal standards. However, he also received a negative response regarding some of his decisions that have stirred public debate about judicial independence and accountability.

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