Ex-CJI: No intent to overstay, needed accessible home for special needs daughters

NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has clarified that his alternate accommodation at Tughlaq Road was under repairs and he had no intention to prolong his stay at the officially designated residence of the Chief Justice of India at 5, Krishna Menon Marg.

Justice Chandrachud had served as the 50th Chief Justice of India and retired in November 2024 after a two-year tenure. His tenure as CJI was the longest in a decade. Responding to media reports that the Supreme Court administration had written to the government urging that possession of the residence be taken from him “without any further delay.”

“Our real challenge is we have two children who have special needs. They need ramps. Even to enter the bathroom, we need doorways wide enough to accommodate their wheelchairs. The girls are 16 and 14. They want to do everything on their own. We had found it extremely difficult to find anything in Delhi at that time. Modern flats have doorways two or two-and-a-half feet wide, not broad enough to enter with a wheelchair… The children are the most beautiful part of our lives… I am surprised that people do not think of these things. Forget somebody having special needs children, what about aged parents who need extra effort for mobility?” Justice Chandrachud said.

He said that his daughters, Priyanka and Mahi, suffer from a rare genetic condition and receive treatment at AIIMS.

In a rather rare move, the Supreme Court administration wrote to the Centre for vacating the official residence of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) at Krishna Menon Marg in the Capital, pointing out that the current occupant ex-CJI DY Chandrachud has stayed beyond the permissible period.

In a communication on July 1 to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the apex court administration said the designated residence for the sitting Chief Justice of India -- Bungalow No. 5 on Krishna Menon Marg -- be vacated and returned to the court’s housing pool.

Former CJI Chandrachud said the alternate accommodation allotted to him was in a state of disuse for almost two years, and repairs had to be carried out. He said the “grant of extension (to judges to stay in their official accommodation) is not an exceptional thing”.

On December 18, last year, Justice Chandrachud had written to then CJI Khanna requesting him to allow him continue residing in the 5, Krishna Menon Marge residence till April 30, 2025, saying although he has been allotted Bungalow No. 14 on Tughlak Road in accordance with 2022 rules, renovation work at the new residence was going on.

Under Rule 3B of the Supreme Court Judges (Amendment) Rules, 2022, a retired Chief Justice of India can retain type VII bungalow, a level below the 5, Krishna Menon Marg bungalow, for a maximum period of six months post-retirement.

Then CJI Khanna gave his nod pursuant to which MoHUA approved the retention of the type VIII bungalow at Krishna Menon Marg by Justice Chandrachud from December 11, 2024, to April 30, 2025 on payment of licence fees of around Rs 5,000 per month.

The ministry conveyed the approval to the Supreme Court administration by a letter of February 13, 2025.

Subsequently, Justice Chandrachud made an oral request to then CJI Khanna to continue residing in the same residence till May 31, 2025, which was also approved by the then CJI with a condition that no further extension would be granted as several new judges had to put in guest houses or have to make alternate arrangements for accommodation in the national capital.

On April 28, Justice Chandrachud wrote again to then CJI Khanna, seeking time until June 30, citing difficulty in finding a suitable accommodation that would also cater to the needs of his two daughters with special needs who are undergoing treatment at AIIMS.

Justice Chandrachud said that he had a telephonic conversation with the incumbent CJI B R Gavai as well, and informed him that the government had allotted him an accommodation on rent. Due to some repairs that had to be carried out, the contractor had promised to hand it over by June 30, he said.

“It’s now only a matter of a few days and we are waiting for the ok word from the contractor. Maybe some work remained and that’s why the delay,” he said.

He pointed out that he was earlier staying at 14, Tughlaq Road residence, which is a transit accommodation for judges and had decided against moving out from there even after becoming CJI as the family liked the place.

“But a few months after becoming CJI, I realised that the place is too small for official work. Even then, I moved into 5, Krishna Menon Marg, only one year after becoming the CJI,” Justice Chandrachud said.

He added that when he became a judge of the Supreme Court, he was staying in the Uttar Pradesh Sadan for almost six months before he was allotted a bungalow.

Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, who succeeded Justice Chandrachud, chose not to move into the official accommodation during his six-month tenure. Even incumbent CJI BR Gavai opted to continue living in a previously allotted bungalow.

The July 1 letter of the apex court administration requested the Centre to take possession of the official CJI bungalow without any further delay and inform the Supreme Court. The communication of this nature to the government is a rarity for vacating the official CJI residence that too from the former CJI.

According to sources, many CJIs have been informally granted an extension to stay in the official residence for a limited time of a couple of months, till they make appropriate arrangements for their accommodation post-retirement.With Agency Inputs