This is not my definition of freedom… CJI Chandrachud’s reply to those who point fingers at the decision

New Delhi: Now only a few days are left for the retirement of the country’s current Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. Before that, in a conversation with a private channel, he/she spoke openly on many issues ranging from Umar Khalid and Zubair. The CJI also expressed his/her opinion on the delay in hearing the bail plea of ​​former JNU student Umar Khalid, who is jailed in the Delhi riots case. Making an important point, he/she said that the merits and demerits of a case can be quite different from the portrayal in the media. he/she further said that the principle of ‘bail is the rule and jail is the exception’ should primarily be followed.What did the CJI say on the bail of Umar Khalid?
On the delay in hearing the bail plea of ​​Umar Khalid, CJAI DY Chandrachud said that the merits and demerits of a case can be quite different from the portrayal in the media. Chandrachud said that a judge makes full use of his/her mind while hearing a case and decides on its merits, without any bias. he/she said that a particular case becomes important in the media and then the court is criticized on that particular case.

Freedom does not mean that…
DY Chandrachud further said that many people in this group say that if you decide the case in my favor then you are free, if you do not do so then you are not free. he/she said that independence means that a judge should be able to decide the case according to his/her discretion. Chief Justice Chandrachud said that when you decide on electoral bonds, you are very free, but if the decision goes in favor of the government, then you are not free. This is not my definition of freedom.

‘Priority given to bail cases’
The Chief Justice said that after assuming the post of Chief Justice, I decided to give priority to bail matters, because it is related to personal liberty. It was decided that every bench of the apex court should hear at least 10 bail cases. 21,000 bail cases were filed in the Supreme Court between November 9, 2022 and November 1, 2024. During this period, 21,358 bail cases were disposed of. he/she said that during the same period, 901 out of 967 cases filed under PMLA were disposed of.

The Chief Justice said that in recent months there have been dozens of political cases in which bail has been granted. Prominent political people are involved in these cases. Often a particular aspect of a case is presented in the media. he/she said that when a judge looks at the record of a case, what emerges may be very different from the portrayal in the media about the merits of that particular case. The judge focuses his/her attention on the matters concerned and then decides on the case.

‘Granted bail to A to Z’
Addressing an event organized by the ‘Indian Express’ group, Chief Justice Chandrachud said that as far as I am concerned, I have given bail to everyone from A to Z (from Arnab Goswami to Zubair). he/she said that the principle of ‘bail is the rule and jail is the exception’ should primarily be followed. The country’s 50th Chief Justice said there are some pressure groups which try to obtain a favorable verdict by putting pressure on the court through electronic media.