DY Chandrachud reveals how being CJI changed him personally, professionally: ‘Deeply rewarding experience’
In an interview with HT, DY Chandrachud talked about how he had rewarding experiences on the judicial side during his tenure.
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, in an interview with Hindustan Times, revealed that his tenure as the chief justice of India had a major impact on his professional and personal life. The outgoing CJI said that his tenure had “deeply rewarding experiences” with many opportunities to address critical societal issues.
Chandrachud's tenure at the post will end today, November 11, and Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take oath as the new Chief Justice of India on Monday.
When asked about his personal and professional journey in the Supreme Court, Chandrachud talked about the top highlights of his tenure.
While speaking to HT, Chandrachud said, “The role has offered deeply rewarding experiences. On the judicial side, the opportunity to address critical societal issues and write judgments that influence both the present and future stands out. Deciding key constitutional cases allows me to contribute to societal transformation.”
He also talked about the administrative changes at the Supreme Court, such as the top court's data centre and the free digital repository of judgments accessible to citizens. Chandrachud said that translation of Supreme Court judgments into Indian languages further inspired high courts to do the same, making this more accessible to all citizens.
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“A recent highlight is the National Judicial Museum, which documents India’s judicial history from ancient times to today. Initiatives like the construction of a futuristic Supreme Court building are also underway, ensuring a lasting impact,” Chandrachud said.
While speaking of the challenges he faced as the chief justice, DY Chandrachud said that the biggest issue they faced as an institution was make people understand the context and perspective in which the court functions, especially in the era of social media.
“What social media has done is to transform the informative space in our society. Everything boils down to 20 second shorts. There is no time to analyse anything in great detail. As a result of that there is a lot of misinformation which arises from the work which is done by the court,” he said.
As important cases in the Supreme Court and the CJI's bench is livestreamed, the people feel compelled to make comments and scrutinise every little thing, the chief justice said.
“Thus, the biggest challenge today lies in managing public perception, especially in the age of social media, where nuanced court discussions are often reduced to soundbites,” Chandrachud said.