An incensed Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, told off the lawyers in the Supreme Court on Tuesday when one of them stated that he asked the court master for details of an order pronounced in court: “How dare you ask the court master what I dictated in court? Tomorrow, you might come to my house and ask my personal secretary what I did. Lawyers have lost all sense of decorum.”.
Exercising his authority, the Chief Justice said, “I am still in charge, though for a short time.” He warned against such incidents in the future: “Don’t try these funny tricks again; these are my last days in court.” These remarks came during a hearing on an arbitration order.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, who is scheduled to retire on November 10, has been particular about maintaining decorum in court throughout his two-year tenure. He has, from time to time, rebuked lawyers for bypassing procedures and showing unprofessional behavior.
This week’s incident was not a one-off. Before this, the Chief Justice had taken on another lawyer for the colloquialism “yeah” while addressing the bench. “This is not a coffee shop! What is this ‘yeah’? I am very allergic to this. This cannot be allowed,” he said.
During a previous hearing of the sensitive electoral bonds case, the Chief Justice had also rebuked a counsel for raising his voice and said, “Don’t shout at me. This is not a Hyde Park corner meeting; you are in court. If you want to move an application, file it properly.” Justice Sanjiv Khanna is next to assume the mantle of the Chief Justice.
