Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was on Friday given a ceremonial farewell in the Supreme Court as he retired from judicial service. In his farewell speech, the outgoing CJI remembered his initial days in the judiciary and said that those parts of the judiciary come to the court as “pilgrims”. He delivered a message from the ceremonial bench and acknowledged the reality that he would no longer serve as the country’s top judge. “I won’t be able to deliver justice from tomorrow, but I am content,” he said.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, who assumed office on November 9, 2022, bid farewell to his judicial service after his two-year term ended. He recalled a lighthearted moment with his registrar judicial the previous evening and shared, “When my registrar judicial asked me what time the ceremonial should begin, I said 2 pm, thinking it would allow us to wrap up a lot of pending items. But I wondered to myself-will anyone actually be here at 2 pm on a Friday afternoon?
He reflected on his judicial career and described the role of judges as akin to pilgrims, coming to court each day with a commitment to serve. “The work we do can make or break cases,” he said.
“If I have ever hurt anyone in the court, please forgive me for that,” he said, quoting the Jain phrase “Michhami Dukkadam,” which translates to “May all my misdeeds be forgiven.”
During the farewell ceremony, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been nominated as his successor and will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on November 11, said, “I never had the chance to appear in Justice Chandrachud’s court, but what he has done for the marginalised and the needy is beyond compare.”
