New Delhi: Speaking at a programme in New Delhi, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud appealed to people to trust the judges and said that meeting with the governmental officials does not mean an agreement was made. During the Indian Express Adda programme, the Chief Justice responded to several controversies of late then stressing that he has social encounters with members of government and such meetings hardly have anything to do with his work on the bench.
Stand up for your judges said Justice Chandrachud, for you to meet someone from the government does not necessarily mean that one is making a deal. He made them understand that such interactions usually take place at other functions, during which the discussions are routine, and tend to be unrelated to the cases that are being handled.
He also expanded the conversation that he had with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently saying, “It was perfectly fine for the Prime Minister to visit my house for a personal occasion. We meet at various functions. Whenever we interact with people outside the judiciary domain, the two parties discuss normal life issues and not issues to do with cases which are pending in the courts. The political system should be mature enough to trust its judges.”
The Chief Justice also pointed out that people with different status in the society should have friendly contacts and relations. “We are present at one another’s successes and failures, at weddings or during bereavement,” he added. That was in High Court and Justice Chandrachud was amused at the memory saying ‘When my mother died, the Chief Minister of the state came to pay condolences’. All these interactions should be seen as life activities and not purely business transactions. Trust your judges that such meetings are not about making any deals.”
With reference to the event on personal belief, Justice Chandrachud added, “I told them about praying to God.” There is no shame in being a man of faith to my knowledge. Every person has his or her own faith, but that doesn’t make me a bigot toward people who are of a different belief system with me. Let it be stated that all decisions that we make are grounded on laws and factual evidence only.