Unnecessary, unwarranted and illogical': CJI Chandrachud on row over PM Modi's visit to his home for Ganesh puja

In September, a row erupted over Prime Minister's visit to CJI's residence

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud termed the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to his residence for Ganpati puja last month “unnecessary, unwarranted and illogical”.

Speaking to Times of India, the outgoing CJI stressed that such visits are common during social events and do not compromise judicial independence.  When the PM visited the CJI’s residence and conducted a Gauri-Ganesh pooja during the auspicious festival of Ganeshotsav, it triggered a political war of words. The Opposition claimed that it compromised the constitutionally mandated separation between the judiciary and the executive, but the BJP hit back, terming the criticism as a hatred of Hinduism.

Chandrachud said PM and chief ministers do visit the residences of the CJI and chief justices of high courts and judges on occasions like children’s marriage or festivities, “I cannot recount a single occasion where either the CJI or judges of the SC ever discussed any judicial matter with the executive heads of the Union or states. Except for exchange of plea- santries, no other matter is discussed,” the CJI told TOI.

The CJI also said the protocol is so strict that judicial matters are never ever discussed with heads of the political executive.  “We know our duties in the democratic system of governance and the political executive know theirs. No judge, least of them the CJI or CJs, can even remotely invite any threat, actual or perceived, to the independence of judiciary,” he said.

Chandrachud  told TOI that whenever the CJI or CJs meet the head of the Union or state governments , the discussions centre around the inadequacy of infrastructure for the judiciary, which faces a huge backlog of cases.

“After a CJ of HC or CJI takes oath, there is a formal meeting between him and the head of the political executive centred around making good the deficiencies in judicial infrastructure, the issues and allocation of funds and related administrative issues,” he said. If the CJI or CJ does not discuss administrative issues faced by the judiciary with the head of the executive, how does one solve the problems faced by the judiciary? How could judicial infrastructure projects be expedited without funds made available by the executive?”
Recounting his stint a s CJ of Allahabad HC, he said after the CJ takes oath, he or she meets the CM and discusses the infrastructural issues faced by the judiciary. “The second meeting with the CM always takes place at the residence of the CJ. And the third at the CM’s residence,” he told TOI.