There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Prime Minister visiting my house for a private event: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Monday (November 4) that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Prime Minister visiting his home for a private religious ceremony.

The outgoing Chief Justice of India, who retires on November 10, spoke at a discussion organized by The Indian Express. Vandita Mishra, the opinion editor of The Indian Express, sought the CJI’s opinion on two recent controversies: one, the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a Ganesh puja festival at CJI’s residence; two, CJIs recent statement that he prayed to the deity to resolve the dispute between Ayodhya and Babri Masjid.

Regarding the first controversy, the CJI reiterated the explanation he told another recent public event that the meetings between the heads of the executive and the judiciary take place regularly for administrative purposes and that such interactions are not intended to influence judgments.

“First and foremost, the separation of powers at the doctrinal level does not presuppose that the judiciary and the executive are hostile to each other in the sense that they do not want to meet each other or engage in reasoned dialogue.” The CJI said pointing out that meetings between Chief Justices and government ministers are necessary to discuss the budgetary expenditure and administrative needs of the judiciary.

“We have to realize that the budget comes from the executive branch. You can talk on paper and wait another five years for your problems to be solved. There is a robust dialogue between the executive and the judiciary on the administrative side, there is nothing to worry about. to do with judicial work,” said CJI. He recalled that when there was a deadlock over the appointment of judges at the beginning of his term, the doyen of the Bar, Fali S. Nariman, had suggested that the Chief Justice should talk to the Justice Minister.

“We must accept that a large amount of dialogue must take place for a robust inter-institutional mechanism for the exchange of views. This has nothing to do with the way we decide things.” said CJI.

Specifically speaking on the controversy over the Prime Minister’s visit, the CJI said:

“As regards the Prime Minister’s visit to my house for a purely private event, I think there was absolutely nothing to it for the simple reason that these are ongoing meetings between the judiciary and the executive, even on social level. We meet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, on January 26/15, when an incoming Chief Justice comes or when an outgoing Chief Justice leaves, when a foreign head of state comes to visit. You are talking to the Prime Minister, the ministers, the President, the Vice President. These conversations do not relate to the matters that we decide. It’s about conversations about life and society in general. There must be a sense of maturity in the political system to understand this and to trust our judgments. Ultimately, the work we do is evaluated by our written words. Everything we decide, unlike many other systems, is not kept secret.’

On the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid controversy

Responding to the controversy sparked by his comment on prayer to find a solution to the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid case, the CJI started by calling it “a social media problem”. He said the background to his comment must be understood. CJI said he attended a public meeting in his native village and answered a question on how he managed to remain calm amid decisive cases of intense conflict.

“I said: everyone has their own mantra. My mantra, I didn’t mean the religious mantra, but the mantra of life. Maybe someone wants to exercise or walk, and as far as I’m concerned, I spend an hour on it every morning, on second thought : how I am going to handle my workload today.

When I meant, I sit before a deity, I don’t make bones or I’m not defensive about being a person of faith. Likewise, I respect every other faith and that is the kind of work we do. My being a person of a certain faith has nothing to do with how I will treat people of other faiths who come to court seeking justice from us.

How do we decide things? I have to argue that point against me too. Because people said, now Supreme Court justices are calling on divine power to tell them the answers to a case. Every case we decide is decided in accordance with the principles of law and the Constitution

Whatever way you choose to maintain a sense of calm, it is critical to have an orderly discourse or outcome in the work you do. And if someone feels that it is their faith that gives them that kind of calmness, because it is that sense of calmness that gives them a degree of objectivity, then so be it.

Belonging to a certain faith has nothing to do with your ability to do justice to people of other faiths.”

Also read – Independence of the judiciary does not mean constantly ruling against the government: CJI DY Chandrachud

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