Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday said there is no pressure from the government on the judiciary and no one in his career of 23 years as a judge told him how to decide a case. The comment comes amid the ongoing Centre versus Supreme Court on several issues the latest being Union minister Kiren Rijiju’s dig at retired judges as he said a few retired judges who are part of the anti-India gang are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of the opposition. Both Rijiju and the CJI spoke at the India Today conclave.
Commenting on Rijiju’s open disapproval of the Collegium system, the CJI said the Collegium is the best system available for the appointment of judges.
On the case of Saurabh Kirpal where the law minister was displeased that the Supreme Court revealed the government’s reasons for not selecting Saurabh Kirpal as a judge as he is gay, the CJI said every aspect of the IB report was available in the public domain and Eaurabh Kirpal is open about his sexual orientation.
“The law minister has a perception. And I have a perception. And there are bound to be differences in perceptions. What’s wrong with having a difference in perceptions? We have to deal with differences in perceptions even within the judiciary…We all deal with it with a sense of robust constitutional statesmanship. So first and foremost, I don’t want to join issue with the law minister for his perception and I respect his perceptions and I am sure he has a great deal of respect for ours as well,” the CJI said.
