Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has clarified that there was no deliberate delay on his part in vacating the official Chief Justice residence at 5, Krishna Menon Marg in New Delhi. The clarification comes in the wake of media reports that the former CJI, continues to occupy the designated residence allocated for the sitting CJI well beyond his retirement in November 2024.

This prompted the Supreme Court administration to write to the Union Government’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, on July 1. Such communication is ‘unprecedented’, it was reported.

The former CJI explained that he and his family are now fully packed and will be relocating within the next two weeks.

“We are all packed up, our furniture is packed... except the day-to-day furniture which we just put in a truck and take to the new house. It is just probably going to take another ten days, at the most two weeks,” Justice Chandrachud said, responding to growing media attention over his continued occupancy of the bungalow beyond the formally permitted period.

Justice Chandrachud will now be moving into a government-allotted accommodation at Teen Murti Marg — the residence that retired Supreme Court judges are entitled to occupy for six months post-retirement. However, his stay at the Krishna Menon Marg residence had exceeded the formal tenure granted by the Supreme Court administration.

The former CJI attributed the extension of his stay to deeply personal and practical concerns relating to the health and mobility requirements of his two adopted daughters, Priyanka and Mahi, who suffer from nemaline myopathy, a rare and debilitating genetic condition that impacts muscle function. “They are now 16 and 14. They are not six-year-old girls anymore. They have their own dignity, privacy, and needs. There are little things... like the width of the bathroom door, through which a wheelchair has to enter,” he explained.

Justice Chandrachud and his wife Kalpana Das adopted the girls during his tenure at the Allahabad High Court. Recounting their early medical struggles, he had once said, “Initially they were just bones and flesh. The mother had completely ignored them thinking they were a lost cause.” He shared that the girls underwent “intrusive and painful” tests in medical institutions and recalling a touching moment he said : “My older daughter kept saying I don't want my sister to go through this.”

In April this year, he had publicly addressed the broader issue of lack of accessibility in Indian public spaces for disabled individuals, saying, “We have two beautiful daughters, who have needs, but it has been difficult to find a house to cater to their needs.

Every public space is the same. For too long, our society has kept the disabled under the curtain of ignorance and suppression.”

Justice Chandrachud explained that he had tried securing suitable wheelchair-accessible accommodation in Delhi, but with little success. He had explored multiple serviced apartments, but was repeatedly turned away. “We almost froze on something, and the owner turned around and said I can’t give it to you for three months,” he said.

Elucidating these challenges, he had formally written to then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna seeking an extension to continue residing at 5 Krishna Menon Marg until April 30, 2025.. “We had shortlisted a few places. We just needed two more months to finalise one. I made a written request on April 28. Justice Khanna had earlier said he wasn’t going to occupy the Krishna Menon Marg house and even suggested that I stay on,” he noted.

When Justice BR Gavai succeeded as CJI in May, Justice Chandrachud reiterated his request. He pointed out that the house allotted to him at Teen Murti Marg had remained unoccupied for two years and needed extensive repairs before it could be made livable. “I told Justice Gavai that the house allotted to me by the government needed substantial repairs. It had been vacant for two years. No judge had wanted to live in it earlier. The contractor made it clear that repairs would go on till the end of June,” he said.

He clarified that his appeal was not open-ended and that he was fully prepared to comply with the law. “I told him if you can extend, I’ll be grateful. If not, I am ready to pay the market rent. That’s the rule, and I am more than willing to comply. I’m not here on sufferance,” he added.

Responding to the controversy, Justice Chandrachud made it clear that the extended stay was never an act of defiance, but driven by necessity, particularly given the complexity of moving into a house equipped for round-the-clock medical care. “We have a small ICU setup at home. During a recent vacation in Shimla, my daughter developed respiratory distress. She had to be airlifted to Chandigarh in an ambulance. She was in ICU for 44 days. She’s still on a tracheostomy tube. It has to be cleaned, maintained, replaced, sometimes at midnight. Only AIIMS doctors are familiar with her condition,” he explained.

He also clarified that his initial move to 5 Krishna Menon Marg was not voluntary. “When I became CJI in 2022, I was in the smallest house in the Supreme Court pool. I had been staying at 14 Tughlaq Road from 2016. I didn’t want to move. But eventually, when you’re Chief, dignitaries visit, ceremonial work is expected. I had to move,” he recalled.

Justice Chandrachud further noted that other retired judges have also been allowed extended stays or alternative accommodations post-retirement. “Justice UU Lalit was given accommodation in Safdarjung Road. Justice NV Ramana was allotted another house. Justice Hima Kohli, who retired in September 2024, vacated only by March or April 2025. This is not like Army House or Navy House where the next person moves in the day you retire. In fact, Justice Khanna told me why take the burden of moving back to Tughlaq Road?” he said.

The former CJI’s comments come after the Supreme Court Registry wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on July 1, seeking the immediate repossession of the Krishna Menon Marg bungalow. Though he had an informal extension until May 31 after his retirement in November 2024, continuing into July brought scrutiny.

According to the amended Supreme Court Judges Rules, 2022, a retired Chief Justice may stay rent-free in a Type VII house for six months post-retirement. However, a Type VIII accommodation, such as the Krishna Menon Marg bungalow, requires special permissions and attracts a license fee if extended.

Now that the government has allotted him a new residence, Justice Chandrachud confirmed he will be paying the required rent, and the six-month rent-free benefit under the 2022 Rules will apply from the date of possession of this new house.

Source: News