The Chief Justice of India, Justice Dr. Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud on Wednesday completed one year in office that witnessed his unequivocal commitment to liberty, free speech, woman rights, including that of the LGBTQIA + community and balancing the relationship between the organs of the State – executive, legislature and judiciary.
Tech-savvy to the core, Chief Justice Chandrachud came to occupy the office with great expectations. However, there are mixed feelings about his one year in the office.
Though the process of computerisation of the courts across the country was in progress well before he came to occupy the top position of the judiciary in the country, he will always be identified for the push he gave for the digitalisation of court proceedings, relieving the courts of unwieldy paperwork – starting with the matter heard by the constitution bench, compelling the old horses of the bar (veteran and senior lawyers) to adopt and adapt themselves to the digitised court proceedings – which they did with resistance and reluctance as a matter of fait accompli. However now hailing it as a huge transformation.
Taking a dim view of certain High Courts being selective in hearing matters through video-conferencing and insisting on physical hearing of the matters, Chief Justice had said, “The question is not whether a particular judge is tech-friendly or not. If you want to be a judge in this country, you have to be tech-friendly… know technology. There is no choice. It’s like you cannot say as a judge that I don’t know what a res judicata is or what interpretation of statutes mean.”
Chief Justice Chandrachud is undoubtedly a shield for upholding the liberty of the people against excesses by the instrumentalities of the State, rights of disadvantaged and discriminated section of the society including LGBTQIA + community and the rights of the women in diverse spheres of society they are working including the armed forces.
A redoubtable advocate of right to privacy, CJI Chandrachud has instincts to smell discrimination against women, notwithstanding any camouflaging by the State.
His one year saw, the top court putting an end to the practice of the government of handing over the material relating to a case in a sealed cover to the disadvantage of the other parties in the case.
At the very start of his tenure, CJI Chandrachud told no to the sealed covers that were routinely handed over to the judges across the bar by the government law officers. The first instance of it was hearing involving Adani- Hindenburg case where CJI Chandrachud refused to accept central government’s suggestion on the terms of reference for committee that was to enquire the matter.
Last but not the least, his year long tenure has seen a large number of appointment of judges been made to various high courts of the country including the Supreme Court without any perceptible confrontation with the government. He appears to believe more in working with the government than confront.