Gripping exchange between Chandrachud J and AG KK Venugopal in SC

The Court of the Chief Justice of India today witnessed a very interesting exchange between Justice DY Chandrachud and Attorney General for India KK Venugopal.

The discussion happened during the hearing of the case on whether courts can rely on reports of Parliamentary Standing Committees while deciding cases under Article 32 or 136.

The exchange was characterised by Justice Chandrachud’s sharp retorts to AG Venugopal’s submissions on the nature of rights being read into Article 21 by the Supreme Court, and the enforceability of the same. The AG submitted,

“Article 21 is worded negatively but Your Lordships have read at least thirty positive rights into it. And they cannot be enforced.”

Justice Chandrachud immediately retorted by stating,

“It can be enforced. Take our orders for ensuring green environment. My brother judge, Justice Sikri’s order ensured that we could breathe after Diwali.”

Venugopal then brought up the judgment on ban of liquor shops along National and State Highways.

Chandrachud J, who had authored that judgment, responded sharply.

“I am sorry, you have not read my judgment. We were enforcing your (Centre’s) policy. The Centre had issued numerous directives for removing liquor vends along highways. India was becoming the accident capital.

We relied on your policy to order removal of liquor vends. Our judgment clearly says it.

Though, subsequently, former Attorney General appeared for Tamil Nadu opposing Centre’s policy.”

Justice Chandrachud was part of the nine-judge Bench that unanimously held that the Right to Privacy was a fundamental right, after the Centre had argued to the contrary. Venugopal had hailed that ruling as an “extraordinary judgment”.

More recently, Chandrachud J had questioned the need to play the National Anthem in movie halls