Supreme Court of India
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on July 11 welcomed Brazilian judge Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin on the bench, and termed him as a “great friend of India”.

Also Read: D.Y. Chandrachud | The CJI whose dissents are as powerful as his judgments

Justice Benjamin, who is set to become the chief justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court in July, is on a visit to India. He shared the dais with the CJI and two other SC judges and keenly watched the judicial proceedings.

“He is a great friend of India… He is soon going to take charge on July 22 as the Chief Justice (of SC in Brazil). We are pleased to have him with us,” the CJI said while introducing him to lawyers and the litigants present in the courtroom.

Justice Chandrachud said Justice Benjamin is a distinguished scholar, who has done significant work in the field of environment protection.

During his stay in the country, Justice Benjamin visited Jammu and Kashmir.

He is the founder of the Brazilian Consumer Law and Policy Institute and the Law for a Green Planet Institute.

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Thursday recommended to the government the appointment of three new Chief Justices to the High Courts of Uttarakhand, Orissa, and Meghalaya.

The Collegium has largely followed the norms of merit, seniority, and integrity of the judges in its recommendations.

It has recommended the appointment of Justice Ritu Bahri as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, an office that has been vacant Justice Vipin Sanghi retired on October 26. Justice Bahri is the senior puisne judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, and has been serving on the Bench since August 16, 2010.

The Collegium has proposed Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa, a post that has been vacant since October 3 following the retirement of Justice Subhasis Talapatra. Justice Singh is the senior puisne judge in the Patna High Court.

Justice S. Vaidyanathan of the Madras High Court has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. The post of the Meghalaya top judge became vacant with the retirement of Justice Sanjib Banerjee on November 1.

The Collegium, in its resolution, noted that while recommending Justice Vaidyanathan’s name, it has taken into consideration the fact that the “Madras High Court which is one of the largest High Courts in the country, is presently represented by only one Chief Justice among the Chief Justices of the High Courts”.

New Delhi:

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has said judges, though not elected, have a very vital role to play because the judiciary has a “stabilising influence” in the evolution of societies which are rapidly changing with technology.

He was responding to the most common criticism that unelected judges should not venture into executive’s domain. He made the observations while speaking in the 3rd Comparative Constitutional Law discussion co-hosted by the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington and the Society for Democratic Rights (SDR), New Delhi on the topic – ‘Perspectives from the Supreme Courts of India and the United States’.

“I believe that judges have a very vital role to play though we are not elected. We don’t go back to the people every five years to seek their votes. But, there’s a reason for that… I do believe that the judiciary, in that sense, is a stabilising influence in the evolution of our societies, particularly in something like our age which is so rapidly changing with technology,” the CJI said.

The judges are the voice of something which must subsist beyond “the vicissitudes of time” and the courts have the ability to provide stabilising influence in the societies.

“I do believe that we have a role to play in the overall stability of our own civilizations, our own cultures, particularly in the context of a plural society, such as India,” he said.

As part of a cultural and social background, the CJI said that the courts have become focal points of engagement between civil society and the quest for social transformation.

“So, people approach the courts, not just for outcomes. Let’s be very clear, people approach the courts also for a voice in the process of constitutional change…,” he said. This is a complex question and there are several reasons as to why people come to courts more often, he said.

“It is very important for courts… because we are as many institutions of governance… of course there is the principle of the separation of powers. We don’t take upon ourselves the role of the legislature or we don’t take upon ourselves the role of the executive,” he said.

The courts are becoming places where people come in order to give vent to the expression for the society which they aspire to achieve, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud is felicitated with the ‘Award for Global Leadership’, at Harvard Law School, in Massachusetts, USA.
| Photo Credit: PTI

However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those responsible for its functioning happen to be a “good lot,” Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud said while citing B. R. Ambedkar and hailing his idea of constitutionalism as being responsible for dismantling deeply entrenched caste hierarchy in India.

The CJI made the observations during his keynote address at the Sixth International Conference on the ‘Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’ at the Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, in the U.S. on October 22.

The CJI highlighted the idea of constitutionalism of Ambedkar, who headed the committee tasked to frame the Indian Constitution and said it was instrumental in transforming Indian society by dismantling deeply entrenched caste hierarchy and promoting social, economic and political empowerment of marginalised groups.

“Ambedkar’s legacy continues to shape the constitutional values of modern India, serving as a beacon for social reform and the pursuit of justice for all,” he said.

He cited Ambedkar, who had said however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot.

“However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot,” the CJI said quoting Ambedkar.

The CJI, who is in the USA, was also felicitated with the ‘Award for Global Leadership’ by the Center on the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School on Saturday.

The announcement about CJI Chandrachud being chosen as the recipient of the award was made on January 11, 2023 in an online ceremony.

He was present at the Harvard Law School on Saturday for a fireside chat with David Wilkins, Professor at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director, Center on the Legal Profession.

Mumbai:

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, while addressing lawyers at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, remarked that greater collaboration between judges and lawyers is a prerequisite for strengthening the legal system and making it resilient for future challenges.

While addressing a gathering of over 600 advocates at Chatrapati SambhajiNagar today, the CJI emphasiSed the importance of enhancing collaboration between judges and lawyers to find solutions for the betterment of the legal system and the administration of justice.

He was addressing an event organised to mark the 75th Marathwada Liberation Day, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din.

Speaking on the occasion, Justice Chandrachud shared the importance of the Marathwada liberation movement in Marathi.

The CJI unfurled the national flag at the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, in accordance with the annual tradition to commemorate a day of historic significance to Marathwada, Maharashtra and the nation.

Speaking to the lawyers, the CJI cautioned against lawyers resorting to strikes and boycotting courts. He emphasised that issues could always be amicably resolved by discussion and co-operation between the Bar and the Bench.

Emphasising the need to ensure that women are given a significant voice in the legal system, as legal professionals, the CJI stated that it is a constitutional duty of every member of the legal profession to provide substantive institutional support and encouragement to women lawyers.

For the young lawyers, he encouraged all lawyers to provide proper guidance and support to the young members of the legal profession.

Though India obtained freedom from colonial rule on 15 August 1947, a few princely states including Hyderabad (which was under the Nizam) refused to merge with the Union of India.

There was popular unrest against the Nizam and a movement for liberating Marathwada gained roots. The populace was subjected to unrelenting atrocities. Innumerable people sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Marathwada. Amidst the unrest, the government of India launched a military operation named Operation Polo.

On 17 September 1948, the Nizam eventually surrendered and agreed to the merger. There were several internal freedom movements such as the Marathwada Mukti Sangram which ensured that India became a union of states.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)