"How will history judge my tenure": CJI DY Chandrachud on pre-retirement anxieties

With a month to go before his retirement as the Chief Justice of India (CJI), incumbent CJI DY Chandrachud revealed on Tuesday that his mind is preoccupied with thoughts about how will history judge his tenure and what legacy he would be leaving behind for future generations of judges and legal professionals.

Justice Chandrchud assumed the office of CJI on November 9, 2022 following the retirement of CJI UU Lalit.

He is slated to demit office on November 10, 2024 after a tenure of two years at the helm - the longest in the last 14 years.

"I will be demitting office as the Chief Justice of India in November this year, after having served my country for two years. As my tenure is coming to an end, my mind has been heavily preoccupied with fears and anxieties about the future and the past. I find myself pondering over questions such as: Did I achieve everything I set out to do? How will history judge my tenure? Could I have done things differently? What legacy will I leave for future generations of judges and legal professionals?," said CJI Chandrachud.

He was speaking at the convocation of JSW Law School in Bhutan's Paro.

However CJI added that answers to most of these questions were out of his control and that his satisfaction lies in the fact that he served his country with utmost dedication.

"The answers to most of these questions lie beyond my control and perhaps, I will never find answers to some of these questions. However, I do know that, over the last two years, I have woken up every morning with a commitment to give the job my fullest and gone to bed with the satisfaction that I served my country with utmost dedication. It is in this, that I seek solace. Once you have this sense of faith in your intentions and abilities, it is easier to not get obsessed with the outcomes. You begin to value the process and the journey towards these outcomes," the CJI said.

In his speech, the CJI said that there is often a misconceived perception that the traditional values of our communities are antithetical to modern democratic ideas such as liberty, equality and dissent.

"However, a dispassionate look at the history of our communities in Asia often yields a different answer," said the CJI.

He also told the students that when people are young, they burn with a fierce desire to right the wrongs of the world but often it is tempered by inexperience, uncertainty and lack of opportunity.