'No quid pro quo in post-retirement assignment': CJI Chandrachud on former judges taking up govt positions

Former CJI DY Chandrachud

Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has said he is content with his current post-retirement work and refused to be drawn into speculation about whether he would accept a government position in the future, in a video excerpt of interview with journalist Sreenivasan Jain for Newslaundry.

Justice Chandrachud, who retired on November 11, 2024, described the past year as fulfilling. “I have accepted an assignment to teach at the National Law University of Delhi. I am working in the arena of international and domestic arbitration, I am a consultant, I am travelling extensively,” he said, adding that his first book 'Why the Constitution Matters', an anthology of his speeches, is due for publication. “I’m enjoying writing. There’s more written work coming out of my pen. As of now, that’s what I’m very happy doing.”

Asked if he was averse to taking up a government role, the former CJI replied, “I refuse to subscribe to any doctrine or idea that a retired judge should do this or shouldn’t do this. Everyone to himself. I am happy with what I am doing right now.” He added, “I refuse to comment or to make any assessment. I am not a soothsayer on what will be my future. Life is finite. I am happy with what I am.”

On whether the government had approached him with an offer, Chandrachud dismissed the question as hypothetical. “If they had, do you think that this would be a secret from the press? Everything even before it’s formulated is..." To this, Jain interjected and said, "But… there are many things especially with this government of which the press has no idea." Chandrachud remarked, "That's hypothetical."

Chandrachud also weighed in on the debate about judges taking up post-retirement assignments, rejecting the notion that such appointments automatically suggest quid pro quo. “I refuse to subscribe to a view which in prevalent in some fora that any former judge accepting any post retirement assignment would be some element of quid pro quo. I refuse to criticize any of my colleagues who have done that. I think we have to be respectful to the system. Every judge to himself..We have some of the distinguished judges who have taken post-retirement office including Chief Justice Chagla...one of the greatest judges of our time..."

Citing precedents, he pointed out that Justice MC Chagla, the first Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in independent India, went on to become a Union Cabinet minister and an ambassador. Similarly, Justice K Subba Rao resigned from the Supreme Court to contest presidential elections, he said. “I refuse to say something which would indirectly amount to being critical of some other colleagues who have taken post-retirement judicial office. Nor do I want to do this moral preaching that judges should or shouldn’t do something like this,” Chandrachud said.

His comments were sought after current Chief Justice BR Gavai (as referenced in the interview), said that he and other judges had pledged not to accept government posts after retirement as it could be perceived as problematic. Chandrachud declined to respond directly, saying: “He has spoken for himself. If any other judge has authorized him to make that statement, he’s spoken for them. I don’t want to make any comment on any of my very respected colleagues.”

In June this year, CJI Gavai stated that he and his fellow Supreme Court judges had taken a public pledge not to erode public confidence in the judiciary’s integrity by accepting government posts after retirement. Speaking at a roundtable in the UK Supreme Court, he cautioned that when judges contest elections or seek political office immediately after stepping down, it could create doubts about their independence and impartiality. Such moves, he said, risk being viewed either as a conflict of interest or as efforts to curry favour with the government.

For now, the former CJI Chandrachud insists he is focused on teaching, writing, arbitration and consulting — and is “happy with what I am doing right now.”

His comments come against the backdrop of a long-running debate on whether judges should accept post-retirement positions, a concern that has grown sharper in recent years as both Supreme Court and high court judges have taken up roles offered by the executive soon after leaving office.

In January 2023, Justice SA Nazeer retired from the Supreme Court and was appointed governor of Andhra Pradesh within 40 days. Justice Nazeer had been part of the five-judge bench that decided the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in November 2019, awarding the Ayodhya site to the Hindu side. He was also the only Muslim judge on that bench, which was led by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi.

Justice Gogoi himself was nominated to the Rajya Sabha just four months after stepping down as CJI in November 2019, drawing sharp criticism. He was only the second Chief Justice of India to enter the upper House, after Justice Ranganath Misra, who served as a Congress-nominated member between 1998 and 2004. Justice Arun Mishra was appointed chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission within a year of retiring in 2021.

Justice Fathima Beevi served as governor of Tamil Nadu from 1997 to 2001, and Justice P Sathasivam was governor of Kerala from 2014 to 2019. Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah went on to serve as Vice President between 1979 and 1984.

Similarly, several high court judges have taken up gubernatorial or tribunal assignments soon after demitting office.