On September 30, 2024 the Supreme Court took a strong stance against a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that named former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi as a respondent and sought an in-house inquiry against him for dismissing an earlier plea related to a service dispute. The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed significant concern over the inclusion of Justice Gogoi in the PIL and questioned the propriety of such a move.

"How can you file a PIL with a judge as a respondent? There has to be some dignity. You cannot just say I want an in-house inquiry against a judge. Justice Ranjan Gogoi was a former judge of the Supreme Court," Chief Justice Chandrachud admonished the Pune-based litigant. He further added, "He retired as the Chief Justice of India. You cannot say I want an in-house inquiry against a judge because you did not succeed before the bench. Sorry, we cannot tolerate this."

The litigant had filed the PIL after his plea regarding his termination under labor laws was earlier dismissed by a bench headed by Justice Gogoi, who retired as the CJI in November 2019. The court found the PIL an inappropriate and unjustified use of judicial processes, considering that the litigant's grievances had already been addressed by a proper judicial forum.

During the proceedings, the Chief Justice became visibly irritated when the litigant responded with "ya-ya" instead of "yes" to queries from the bench. Chief Justice Chandrachud responded sharply: "What is this 'ya-ya'? This is not a coffee shop. I am very allergic to this 'ya ya'. This cannot be allowed."

When the litigant argued that his case involved "illegal termination," the bench questioned his choice of filing a PIL rather than using the appropriate judicial recourse. "How can you file a PIL in a service matter after dismissal of the petition and the review plea? You should have filed a curative petition," the Chief Justice remarked, emphasizing the procedural requirements to be followed in such matters.

In an attempt to make the litigant understand the legal and procedural issues at hand, Chief Justice Chandrachud even spoke in Marathi. He directed the litigant to make a statement before the Supreme Court registry stating his willingness to remove Justice Gogoi's name from the list of parties involved. "Will you delete Justice Gogoi's name in the appeal against lodgement of the MA (miscellaneous application)? Will you give this in writing... you delete first and then we will see," the CJI instructed.

Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who is currently serving as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, was the first person from the northeastern region of India to hold the top judicial post. He is notably remembered for concluding the decades-old politically and religiously sensitive Ayodhya land dispute case. The Supreme Court's strong rebuke and accentuated the need to maintain the dignity of the judiciary and respect for former judges, with Chief Justice Chandrachud noting that targeting judges after retirement over dissatisfaction with a decision is intolerable.