CJI reflects on friendship, golf and word wizardry as SC bids farewell to 3 judges

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on Friday revealed stories about a childhood friend, his personal icon, and the person who introduced him to Kerala cuisine, besides disclosing who among the judges is an ace golfer and who ran a word search puzzle in a newspaper for 50 weeks, as he accorded a farewell to three judges demitting office during the court’s summer vacation.

Speaking at an event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, the CJI spoke of his association with justice KM Joseph, who was his childhood friend; justice Ajay Rastogi whom he called the “master of the greens”; and justice V Ramasubramanian, whose profound knowledge of Tamil literature, Sanskrit, and Hindu scriptures made the CJI wonder if judges still have time to pursue their passions despite the heavy workload.

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While justice Joseph and justice Rastogi will step down on June 16 and June 17, justice Ramasubramanian will demit office on June 29. Friday was the last working day of the court before it reopens on July 3.

The CJI told the audience of judges and lawyers that his friendship with justice Joseph went back to August 28, 1972, when they were boys who shared a common boundary wall in Lutyens Delhi. Both are sons of former judges of Supreme Court - justice KK Mathew (retired in 1976) and justice YV Chandrachud (retired as CJI in 1985), who stayed at 11 Tughlaq Road and 13 Tughlaq Road respectively.

“Justice Joseph was quite a football maestro and he taught me various tricks in football. We cobbled together our own rag tag teams and would go to India Gate to play football and cricket,” the CJI recalled. In Justice Mathew (father of justice Joseph), CJI saw his personal icon. Every time he saw the former judge, the CJI said, he would be dressed in immaculate white clothes, reading briefs and writing judgments.

“I was from Mumbai and the only version of dosas I knew was the masala dosa served at Udupi restaurants. But it was justice Joseph’s mother who for the first time introduced me to idiyappam (rice noodles) and a variety of Kerala cuisine. She would feed us in the evenings to no end,” CJI Chandrachud said.

Justice Joseph studied in Delhi, did his law from Kerala, practised in the Delhi high and Kerala high court, and became chief justice of the Uttarakhand high court in 2014, before his elevation to Supreme Court in August 2018.

Speaking about justice Rastogi, the CJI recalled that in June 2020 when the country was in the grip of the Covid lockdown, when judges were forced to work from homes, it was justice Rastogi who along with CJI and justice Hemant Gupta (now retired) who took the lead to go paperless and switch to laptops for court proceedings.

“Justice Rastogi was the master of the greens. He truly mastered his own environment,” the CJI remarked in an ode to justice Rastogi’s love for golf, which leads him to the court in the early hours every weekend. Justice Rastogi authored with CJI the decision in the Annie Nagaraja (2020) case, granting permanent commission to women short service commission officers in Navy.

Justice Rastogi belonged to a family of lawyers from Rajasthan. He was elevated to the Rajasthan high court in 2004, and went on to become chief justice of Tripura high court before his elevation to Supreme Court in November 2018.

About Justice Ramasubramanian, CJI wondered how the judge managed to author so many books in English despite being introduced to this language during his graduation in Chennai. The CJI wondered how justice Ramasubramanian mastered his passion in Tamil literature, astrology, mysticism, Carnatic music, and Sanskrit as he was regarded a scholar in these subjects. His added that his command over the language was evident through his wordplay and wit.

Earlier in the day, while addressing a ceremonial bench, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta said that people these days are losing common sense and sense if humour, but justice Ramasubramanian has both in abundance.

During his early days in Chennai, the CJI revealed, “Justice Ramasubramanian ran a Tamil word search puzzle in a newspaper for 50 weeks. It was so popular that one of the life convicts in Tamil Nadu became an active participant. At the book launch of the collection of word puzzles, justice Ramasubramanian handed over the first copy to this prisoner.”

Justice Ramasubramanian was a first-generational lawyer who became a judge in 2006, served at several high courts before his elevation to Supreme Court in 2019. In his own witty style, justice Ramasubramanian said, “I don’t have the disadvantage of both my [retiring] colleagues. One was a judge’s son and another a lawyer’s son. If you a first generational lawyer, you have nothing to lose.”

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The public perception that judges who give verdicts against the government or establishment alone are fair and independent must change, justice Ajay Rastogi, who will demit office next month, said on Friday.

Speaking about how people evaluate judges based on a perception fuelled by media, justice Rastogi said, “If you decide against the establishment and give your opinion against government, you are treated as independent judge. This thing is being perceived by people at large and supported by media.”

Wondering what will happen if this perception gains more ground, justice Rastogi said, “If you make a comment against government, everybody is happy. They say you are the finest judge. This practice must change.”

He said that justice, according to him, may require a judge to decide for or against any party before court. “We as judges are supposed to decide matters on basis of record. The message must go that courts are not concerned who is on the Right or who is on the Left. We are only concerned about who is right.”