Highlights
- A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the petition was filed only to gain publicity without there being any material.
- Last week, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition with a similar prayer.
- Widely seen as a liberal judge, Justice DY Chandrachud has been a part of several key judgments by the Supreme Court in recent years.
Calling it “publicity interest litigation”, the Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed, with a cost of Rs 1 lakh, public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the appointment of Justice D Y Chandrachud as the Chief Justice of India.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the petition was filed only to gain publicity without there being any material.
Bizarre claims by petitioner
Petitioner Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari, who claimed to be the national president of an organisation named Gram Uday Foundation, challenged Justice Chandrachud’s appointment as the CJI, alleging that it was against the Constitution.
Tiwari, in the PIL, said that an inquiry should be conducted by the security agencies against the new CJI to ascertain he “does not have any kind of relation with the anti-nationals and Naxalite Christian terrorists”.
He also claimed that Justice Chandrachud “will be aware in destroying the traitors who are plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister.”
SC dismissed a similar plea last week
Last week, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition with a similar prayer.
The petition in SC was based on a representation filed by one Rashid Khan Pathan before the President of India against Justice Chandrachud.
In a case related to Covid vaccination, the counsel submitted that when a senior advocate appeared, Justice Chandrachud’s bench allowed tagging. Still, when a junior advocate appeared, no tagging was allowed.
He further argued that Justice Chandrachud’s bench heard a special leave petition from an order in the Bombay High Court where his son had appeared as a counsel.
In other reasoning, the petitioner said that Justice Chandrachud had also forced the litigant to take the COVID vaccine.
Who is Justice Chandrachud?
Justice Chandrachud took oath as the 50th CJI on November 9.
63-year-old Justice DY Chandrachud is the son of Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud the 16th Chief Justice of India, who held the office from February 22, 1978 to July 11, 1985.
For the first time in India, the son of a former CJI has been appointed as the top jurist in the country.
Widely seen as a liberal judge, Justice DY Chandrachud has been a part of several key judgments by the Supreme Court in recent years.
Smear campaign against Justice Chandrachud
For weeks, a social media smear campaign has been going against Justice DY Chandrachud, with many tweeting with the hashtag #NotMyCJI.
Earlier Bar bodies like the Bar Council of India and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) had strongly condemned the “vilification” of justice Chandrachud. They termed the allegation of misuse of office against the judge as an attempt to “malign” his image.
