Luggage packed, will move out of official residence: Ex-CJI Chandrachud day after citing daughters' special needs

New Delhi: In the wake of the controversy over his stay at the official residence beyond permissible time, former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday cleared the air saying his luggage was packed and he along with his wife and children would soon move to a paid government accommodation.

Chandrachud, his wife Kalpana and daughters Priyanka and Mahi, both of whom are persons with disabilities, were living in the official CJI residence of 5, Krishna Menon Marg, New Delhi.

"We have actually packed up our luggage. Our luggage is already completely packed up. Some of the luggage is already gone to the new house and some are kept here in the storeroom," Justice Chandrachud told PTI while elaborating on reasons for his overstay in the bungalow.

The 50th CJI, who superannuated from the office on November 8, 2024, was responding to the Supreme Court administration's communication to the Centre to vacate the official bungalow due to the purported overstay.

The former CJI lamented over the controversy and referred to the medical condition of his daughters who required a wheelchair-friendly home.

"I won't tell you how I feel, but you can imagine how I feel about it…one thing which I would like to mention is that we are the parents of two children, Priyanka and Mahi. They are special children and they have special needs. They have a condition called Nemaline myopathy… And you know, this is a very rare genetic disorder which affects the skeletal muscles."

He continued, "Even at home, we maintain a high standard of hygiene, sanitation and we have a very specialised nurse who looks after them. So now it's a matter of maybe a couple of days, or not a couple of days, but maybe a couple of weeks at the most. As soon as they tell me that the house is ready for occupation, I will be moving out." Justice Chandrachud recalled his elder daughter Priyanka being in the ICU for 44 days at PGI Chandigarh in 2021 and in January, 2022.

"And you know, she had a difficulty when we were on a holiday in Shimla, and she's now actually attached to a tracheostomy tube…," he added.

The former CJI pointed out his children's regular chest, respiratory and neurological therapies aside from pain and speech management.

He said one of the kids had difficulty in swallowing as a multi-disciplinary team looked after both his children on a daily basis.

Justice Chandrachud referred to former CJIs Justices U U Lalit and N V Ramana and other top court judges, saying they too were granted extension of time to stay in their official residences.

"And importantly, this extension of time is granted not only to me but to other judges like Justice U U Lalit who retired as CJI and was given a house after his retirement at the Safdarjung road and Justice N V Ramana was given a house by the government at Tughlaq road after his retirement,” he said.

Various other judges were also granted an extension of time because of the exigencies or a personal problem, he added.

The former CJI also ensures his daughters are not exposed to dust or allergies or any kind of infection.

Justice Chandrachud said he was "not the first person to be allotted the house by the government" and claimed the extension of time was the discretion of the chief justice of India.

Referring to the sequence of events, Justice Chandrachud said after his retirement he spoke to then CJI Sanjiv Khanna, who succeeded him, and told him he was to return to 14, Tughlaq Road bungalow, where he lived before becoming the CJI.

Justice Khanna, however, asked Justice Chandrachud to continue staying in the CJI bungalow as the former did not want to the official residence.

On July 1, the apex court administration wrote to the Centre saying Justice Chandrachud had stayed in the CJI bungalow beyond the permissible period and sought the property to be vacated.

In the communication sent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the apex court administration said the residence designated for the sitting chief justice of India ought to be returned to the court's housing pool, sources said.

The letter requested the MoHUA secretary to take possession of the bungalow from the former CJI without any further delay as not only the permission that was granted to him for retention of the accommodation expired on May 31 but also the prescribed six-month period of further stay under the 2022 Rules ended on May 10.

Under Rule 3B of the Supreme Court Judges (Amendment) Rules, 2022, a retired chief justice of India can retain type VII bungalow, a level below the 5, Krishna Menon Marg bungalow, for a maximum period of six months post-retirement.