Nothing wrong in PM Modi's visit to my residence for Ganpati Puja: CJI Chandrachud

CJI Chandrachud addresses controversy over PM Modi's visit, emphasizing the importance of dialogue between judiciary and executive.

Addressing the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his residence for Ganpati prayers, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Monday (October said there was "nothing wrong" in it and underscored the need for a "sense of maturity in political sphere" on such issues.

Following the PM's visit to the CJI residence, opposition parties led by the Congress and a section of lawyers had raised concerns over propriety and separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive. The BJP, on the other hand, dismissed the criticism as unwarranted and said it was a "part of our culture".

Speaking at an event, CJI Chandrachud said one has to respect that the dialogue between the judiciary and the executive takes place as a part of the robust inter-institutional mechanism and separation of powers does not mean the two will not meet.

"The separation of powers concept does not postulate that judiciary and executive are antagonist in the sense they will not meet or not engage in a reasoned dialogue. In the states, there is a protocol of chief justice and the administrative committee of the high court meeting the chief minister and on the chief minister meeting the chief justice at their residence. In most of these meetings, you are discussing basic issues like budgeting, infrastructure, technology, etc," he said.

On the prime minister's visit, the CJI shared, "The PM visited my residence for Ganpati puja. I do feel, there is absolutely nothing wrong as these are continuing meetings between the judiciary and the executive even at the social level. We meet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Republic Day, etc. We are in conversation with the prime minister and the ministers. This conversation does not involve the cases which we decide but life and society in general."

The CJI, who demits office on November 10, said, "There has to be a sense of maturity in the political system to understand this and trust our judges because the work we do is evaluated by our written word. Everything we decide is not kept in wraps and is open to scrutiny."

He said a robust dialogue taking place between the executive and the judiciary on the administrative side had nothing to do with the judicial side.