Ex-CJI: No intent to overstay, needed accessible home for special needs daughters

Former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has clarified that his alternate accommodation at Tughlaq Road was under repairs and he had no intention to prolong his stay at the officially designated residence of the Chief Justice of India at 5, Krishna Menon Marg.

- MPOST BUREAU

Justice Chandrachud had served as the 50th Chief Justice of India and retired in November 2024 after a two-year tenure. His tenure as CJI was the longest in a decade. Responding to media reports that the Supreme Court administration had written to the government urging that possession of the residence be taken from him "without any further delay."

"Our real challenge is we have two children who have special needs. They need ramps. Even to enter the bathroom, we need doorways wide enough to accommodate their wheelchairs. The girls are 16 and 14. They want to do everything on their own. We had found it extremely difficult to find anything in Delhi at that time. Modern flats have doorways two or two-and-a-half feet wide, not broad enough to enter with a wheelchair... The children are the most beautiful part of our lives... I am surprised that people do not think of these things. Forget somebody having special needs children, what about" aged parents who need extra effort for mobility?" Justice Chandrachud said.

He said that his daughters, Priyanka and Mahi, suffer from a rare genetic condition and receive treatment at AIIMS.

In a rather rare move, the Supreme Court administration wrote to the Centre for vacating the official residence of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) at Krishna Menon Marg in the Capital, pointing out that the current occupant ex-CJI DY Chandrachud has stayed beyond the permissible period.