Justice Chavan said that from the moment Justice Chandrachud was elevated to the Bombay High Court Bench, he was looked upon and treated as a potential CJI.
He also said that Justice Chandrachud was cautious during his tenure as a High Court judge, particularly when it came to his views on homosexuality and privacy.
“He had a lot of pressure. He was a source of inspiration for all judges, generally avoided skirmishes and toed the senior’s line. He had his views on homosexuality, privacy etc which he articulated. He did not sow these ideas in his Bombay High Court judgments so as to not stir the pot and waited till he was in an actual position to impact the law. He was conservative, conformist and cautious to a fault there (in High Court),” Justice Chavan said.
On the shortcomings of the CJI’s tenure, Justice Chavan compared it to a batter attacking indiscriminately in the final overs of a cricket match.
“The batter perhaps got battered. He has tried to do many things administratively, unfortunately they could not all be completed and he could not have time to improve the judiciary,” Justice Chavan opined.
