Former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud explained why Umar Khalid’s bail has been pending for years, warning that judge-shopping is a major threat to the justice system. He stressed that Supreme Court case allotments follow strict rules, not personal choices.
The popular talk show Guest in the Newsroom (GITN), where people have seen and heard from well-known personalities ranging from sportspersons to singers and activists, this time invited a very special guest – former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud.
In this interview, the former CJI spoke openly about major changes in the Supreme Court after the Ayodhya verdict and also addressed questions related to the ongoing bail matter of Umar Khalid.
During the conversation with Saurabh Dwivedi, the editor of The Lallantop, a key question was raised – why Umar Khalid has not been granted bail for five years. Answering this, the former CJI made some very sharp observations.
He said,
“Look, this is also a big problem today. Lawyers or… They are a part of the political establishment. They think that we would like to try our case in front of this judge, and we do not want to try our case in front of this judge. I think this is the biggest threat to our institution and to the system today. If we give this power to one person, lawyer or any one organ of the political establishment… Or give it to a political party. That we will put this case in front of a particular person, or we will not do it in front of anyone. How much danger is there in it…”
He further explained by drawing a comparison to other high-profile cases. The former CJI added,
“Are you talking about Umar Khalid, or Sharjeel Imam… Tomorrow, if there is a big industrialist in this case, he will say, ‘Okay, I have a case, I will take it before this judge.’ This case is mine, I will not take it before this judge… Because these judges are more pro-labour, I don’t want pro-labour judges. I want a pro industry judge. There is a huge risk to our system.”
The former CJI warned that such practices could completely weaken the justice delivery mechanism of the country.
He stressed,
“This is how we will end the entire justice system.”
He also spoke about the recent discussions around case allocation in the Supreme Court and said that people often make wrong assumptions.
“To say that this case was given to Justice Bela Trivedi is also wrong. There are rules and conventions about allotment in the Supreme Court. Suppose the original case is with Judge Number Two and Judge Number Five. Judge number two retires… Now when Judge Number Two retires, this case is given to someone else… Suppose judge number three is allotted… So judge number three and judge number five will be close. So the judge who lives in the system is given the case.”
Explaining this point further, he shared an example from his own time as CJI when he too was criticised for a similar issue.
He recalled,
“I was criticised in one such case when I was the CJI. I was told that this case was with Bopanna Sahab and him… Why was this Bopanna sahib removed? Now the reason for that was that, when Bopanna Sahab was hearing the case, he had undergone surgery. I told my registry that Bopanna sahib was not available. We wait for them, when they come back, those cases will be given to them. When the message came from his registry, from his personal office, that the sahib was not feeling well, so the case was given to someone else.”
Finally, the former CJI made it clear that case allocation in the top court does not depend on personal choices of the Chief Justice.
He said,
“It is not the case in the Supreme Court that the CJI gives any case to anyone. If there is a judge in a case, then that case is given to him.”
Through his statements, the former CJI tried to underline the seriousness of maintaining neutrality, fairness, and transparency in how cases are distributed in the Supreme Court.
His remarks on Umar Khalid’s case, the issue of selective benches, and the example of Justice Bopanna all highlight how sensitive the matter of judicial assignments is, and why it is important to trust the rules and conventions of the system rather than assume political or personal motives.
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