Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna credited former Chief Justice of India (CJI) late YV Chandrachud for his significant contributions to the Basic Structure doctrine.
Justice Nagarathna highlighted that former CJI Chandrachud’s opinions in the Indira Gandhi vs Raj Narain and Minerva Mills cases “nurtured the basic structure doctrine.”
“The balanced vision of CJI Chandrachud gave substance to the basic structure doctrine. He possessed the traits of a scholarly statesman. The basic structure was further refined in the Waman Rao vs Union of India case. According to Upendra Baxi, there was a shift in his judicial stance, suggesting he disagreed with his earlier judgment. However, I believe that comment was unnecessary since he had to follow the precedent set in the Kesavananda Bharati case and apply it in subsequent cases,” Justice Nagarathna said.
She made these remarks while delivering the 216th Friday Club lecture at the Supreme Court on the topic “The Constitutional and Legal Philosophy of Chief Justice of India YV Chandrachud,” held to commemorate the 104th birth anniversary of the former CJI.
Justice Nagarathna, who is in line to be the future CJI, added that had our basic structure not been immutable, our democracy would have struggled to maintain its sanctity.
“CJI YV Chandrachud had no hesitation in enforcing the fundamental rights of citizens. The Rudul Shah case is one such example, where he awarded cash compensation for the violation of fundamental rights, a novel approach at that time,” she said.
She added that CJI Chandrachud continues to inspire judges to this day.
Justice Nagarathna also praised the ‘rarest of rare’ doctrine established by CJI Chandrachud in the Bachhan Singh case, which is the test for imposing the death penalty in India.
She further stated that CJI Chandrachud’s conduct as a judge demonstrated his psychological insight into the minds of litigants, especially in family law cases.
She recalled how former Supreme Court judge Justice Chinnappa Reddy described Justice Chandrachud as a master at constituting benches to get the best out of judges.
“The former CJI appointed as many as 14 judges to the Supreme Court during his tenure,” Justice Nagarathna noted.
She also highlighted that Justice Chandrachud was born on an auspicious day according to the Hindu calendar.
“He was born on Prathama Ekadashi, a very important day. When he passed away, it was on Harisheyana Ekadashi, which is a very significant day in the Hindu calendar,” said Justice Nagarathna.
