Life and law

From his key judgments to music, cats and veganism, Justice Chandrachud shares snippets of his life with Veenu Sandhu and Bhavini Mishra

- Veenu Sandhu and Bhavini Mishra

As tickler for time, Justice DY Chandrachud is late for our lunch meeting. A visitor has uncharacteristically delayed him, probably thinking that, having retired, the former Chief Justice of India (CJI) would have more time at hand.

He apologises profusely as he meets us at Shang Palace, the fine dining restaurant at the Shangri-La in New Delhi. Impeccably turned out in a crisp shirt, grey trousers, and brown shoes, he appears smaller than his larger-than-life public persona, which earned him descriptors such as “celebrity judge” or “rockstar judge”. Post-retirement, he has published a book, Why the Constitution Matters: Selected Speeches — 34 of them, ranging from gender justice and climate change to art, literature, and the meaning of free speech.

Over the next two-and-a-half hours, over steaming cups of jasmine tea and an elaborate lunch, our conversation traverses between pages and plates, philosophy and food, going from his views about nepotism in judiciary, and poor representation of women in higher courts, to some of his landmark cases and the matter of judges accepting post-retirement positions.

‘The former CJI is vegan. We, too, decide on an all-vegan meal, even though he insists we should eat whatever we please. Veganism for his family, he says, isn't just a diet but a philosophy. “Our daughters — they are special children, extremely ethical — played a big role in the family turning vegan,” he says. Their home is now entirely plant-based, down to coconut milk tea and peanut yogurt. “People often ask how we meet our protein needs,” he smiles. “Our traditional foods — dal, chana, millets — have plenty.” Also, he no longer buys leather products —shoes, belts, ete — and the family makes it a point to return gifts that are not cruelty-free.