Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud firmly asserted his authority during a recent court session when a lawyer attempted to manipulate the system to expedite a hearing.
The lawyer had mentioned the matter for an early listing, but the CJI informed him that it was already scheduled for April 17th.
Undeterred, the lawyer attempted to mention the case before another bench to secure an earlier date, prompting the CJI to caution him against such tactics.
"Don't mess around with my authority"
"Don't mess around with my authority," he warned, adding that the lawyer could not mention the case in one place and then elsewhere in pursuit of an earlier date.
This is not the first time the CJI has clashed with legal professionals over courtroom conduct.
Past instances:
Last month, during a hearing on a land allotment matter involving lawyers' chambers, the CJI lost his temper when the Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh pushed for an early listing of a matter.
Singh argued that the matter had been pending for six months, and threatened to take it to the judge's residence if it wasn't listed soon. The CJI firmly put Singh in his place, telling him that he would not be cowered down and would not tolerate such behavior from anyone, whether they were a member of the Bar or a litigant. The court eventually agreed to list the matter on March 17th, albeit not as item 1 in the cause list.
During the same court session, the SCBA president again urged the court to list the matter early, citing the fact that it had been pending for six months. Senior Advocate argued that the Appu Ghar land had come under the Apex court's jurisdiction on the petition of the SCBA, but that the Bar had only been given one block.
The exchange highlights the tensions that can arise in a high-stakes legal setting, as legal professionals jostle for position and attempt to navigate a complex and often opaque system.
