When you bump into the Chief Justice of India

A small but valuable and unexpected interaction which a few of my juniors had with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud is what has prompted me to pen this piece.

After a long day at the Supreme Court, three young lawyers working in my chambers were leaving a court room in the apex court and returning to my chamber on Friday.

It was the last court in session that day and the court rooms were practically empty. It seemed like my juniors were the only lawyers exiting the court complex.

On the way, while passing through a corridor, they were suddenly halted by a member of the court security staff, who asked them to wait.

Before they could really question or even think about “why”, CJI DY Chandrachud walked out of a door to the left (which leads to another corridor behind the court rooms - used exclusively by the judges and their staff) to use the common corridor used by lawyers. He was accompanied by certain dignitaries and guests, one of whom was the Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon.

At first, they simply bowed and greeted the CJI, but to their surprise, after he passed them, he turned around and asked:

“Have you guys been using the online SCR service started by us?”

To give some context, the Supreme Court (under CJI Chandrachud) recently launched a new free system of accessing copies of reported judgments of the Court.

This is a huge benefit for young lawyers, who don't really have the set up and the resources to invest in subscriptions for the online court reporters such as Manupatra and SCCOnline.

Coming back to the "small" interaction, once the three of them recovered from the initial shock of the CJI’s unexpected but friendly interaction, they found the words to tell him – “yes, we have and it is a great initiative.”

He in lighter vein said he was just telling his guests regarding the venture and wanted their (lawyers’) first-hand opinion on whether it was working well.

He then proceeded to ask each of them their names, before taking leave and moving on with his guests.

My juniors informed me that in a profession where most couldn't care less about the opinions of a couple of lawyers in their mid-twenties, it felt nice to have their opinion sought by the Chief Justice himself.

While it must have been a 'small' interaction, I could tell that it meant the world for the three young lawyers, who are in the process of finding a footing in this fast paced and generally relentless profession.

It gives me great reassurance to know that our nation's Chief Justice cares and wants to take steps to improve our profession.

Terming it a ‘small’ interaction is a misnomer; it was in all aspects ‘huge’ and will be a source of great motivation for the three young lawyers and for all of us.

Balaji Srinivasan is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India.