From judgments to cats, ex-CJI Chandrachud shares snippets of his life

"In the district judiciary, women are outnumbering men. The challenge is ensuring these women rise. We can't just say We want more women judges. We must build a pipeline," he says

A stickler for time, Justice DY Chandrachud is late for our lunch meeting. A visitor has uncharacteristically delayed him, probably thinking that, having retired, the former Chief Justice of India (CJI) would have more time at hand.

 

He apologises profusely as he meets us at Shang Palace, the fine dining restaurant at the Shangri-La in New Delhi. Impeccably turned out in a crisp shirt, grey trousers, and brown shoes, he appears smaller than his larger-than-life public persona, which earned him descriptors such as “celebrity judge” or “rockstar judge”. Post-retirement, he has published a book, Why the Constitution Matters: Selected Speeches